The remains of a 17-year-old Pearl Harbor sailor are returning home after 80 years
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The remains of a 17-year-old sailor killed in the World War II attack on Pearl Harbor are returning home more than 84 years later for a proper burial.
Royle Bradford Luker will be laid to rest with full military honors in Plainview, Arkansas, on May 30, according to his report. He will be buried with his parents including his father who was a World War I veteran.
“As a Fireman Third Class in the United States Navy aboard the USS West Virginia, he gave his all and was killed in the line of duty during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941,” said his obituary from Cornwell Funeral Homes.
His burial was arranged after a forensic examination and a genetic test comparing his remains with DNA from living relatives confirmed his identity decades later, the report said.
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Royle B Luker was 17 years old when he was killed during the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. (Defense Agency POW/MIA Accounting)
For his service and sacrifice, Luker reportedly received numerous military honors, including the Purple Heart, awarded to those wounded or killed in action, and the Navy Presidential Unit Citation, which recognizes extraordinary bravery by military units under enemy fire.
Other awards and decorations on his list include the Gold Star veteran designation, Combat Action Ribbon, Navy Expeditionary Medal, Navy Good Conduct Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, American Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.
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Sailors stand among the debris watching the USS Shaw explode during the Japanese attack on Naval Air Station Ford Island in Pearl Harbor. (Fox Photos/Getty Images)
Luker was among 106 crew members killed when the USS West Virginia was sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
He has been on the active-kill list for decades, while his remains were never identified and interred anonymously at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. His name was also remembered in the courts of the missing.
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Nearly 82 years after his death, Luker was officially reported dead on May 29, 2024, after authorities removed many of the boxes for forensic testing and modern DNA, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
The USS Arizona Memorial is seen in Honolulu ahead of the 84th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 2025. (Mengshin Lin/AP)
The young sailor was the son of George F. Luker, a WWI veteran, and Nettie Estelle David Luker, according to his background.
Family members, some of whom lived in Arkansas at the time of his deployment, reportedly remembered Luker with “pride and love.”
According to the report, he is survived by two nephews, Donald Bradford Henderson and John Luker, and a niece, Becky Downen Lensing.
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“More than 80 years later, the DNA from Royle Luker and the family’s willingness to share their DNA bridged the gap between loss and knowledge,” his report said. “Now he will be sent home and placed in his last house.”
According to the US Navy, the USS West Virginia was anchored at Ford Island in 1941 when Japanese aircraft launched torpedoes against the battleship. The ship was hit by several torpedo hits and eventually sank in the shallows of the harbor.
