The remains of as many as 388 unidentified military members who died when the USS Oklahoma was sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor will be exhumed in Hawaii in an effort to identify them using forensic techniques, including DNA testing, Reuters reported, quoting a senior Defense Department official in Washington.
The remains of the sailors and Marines who are identified will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors.
"While not all families will receive an individual identification, we will strive to provide resolution to as many families as possible," Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work said in a statement.
There has been a series of identification efforts made since Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, which took 2,403 lives and drew the United States into World War Two.
The Oklahoma sank when it was hit by torpedoes during the assault, the Pentagon said. A total of 429 sailors and Marines were killed.
