Pvt. Herbert E. McLaughlin of Shawano was killed in the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. (Photo courtesyDefense POW/MIA Accounting Agency)
SHAWANO, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The remains of a Shawano soldier who was killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor have been identified with the help of DNA analysis.
U.S. Army Air Forces Pvt. Herbert E. McLaughlin was 31 when Japanese forces attacked the military base in Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941. According to the U.S. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, McLaughlin was assigned to Headquarters Squadron, 17th Air Group at Hickam Airfield on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Following the initial attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese aircraft moved to Hickam Field. McLaughlin was killed during the four-hour attack.
McLaughlin’s remains were among those interred in the Schofield Barracks Cemetery two days later. In August 1947, remains were transferred to the Central Identification Laboratory at Schofield Barracks. McLaughlin’s remains were among those of 12 service members from Hickam Field that could not be identified. In 1949, the remains were buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the “Punchbowl.”
In 2019, the 12 sets of remains were exhumed for further analysis. McLaughlin’s remains were accounted for last December, and his family was briefed.
McLaughlin will be buried in Shawano. A date has not yet been determined.
Shawano’s Veterans of Foreign Wars post is named for McLaughlin.
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