Home After 85 Years

Home After 85 Years

The remains of a 17 year old American sailor killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor have finally been identified and returned home nearly 85 years later.

Fireman 3rd Class Royle Luker was just 17 years old when he was killed aboard the USS West Virginia during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

Luker had enlisted in the Navy in June of 1941, only months before the attack that would change American history forever.

He was one of 106 sailors killed aboard the USS West Virginia that day.

For decades, his remains were buried in a grave marked only as “unknown.”

In 2017, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency began exhuming unidentified remains from Pearl Harbor victims in an effort to finally give these fallen service members their names back.

Using modern forensic technology unavailable during World War II, investigators officially identified Luker on May 29, 2024.

Now, nearly 85 years after his death, the Arkansas sailor is finally coming home.

Luker will be buried with full military honors on May 30 at New Bethel Cemetery in Plainview, Arkansas, beside his parents.

The USS West Virginia was heavily damaged during the first wave of the Pearl Harbor attack. Some sailors trapped below deck survived for more than two weeks inside the ship before eventually dying, leaving behind a haunting calendar with 16 days marked off in red pencil.

Luker was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, and World War II Victory Medal.

A heartbreaking reminder that for many families, World War II never truly ended until their loved one finally came home.

Photo courtesy of U.S. military archives.

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