Success and Disinterment Announcement: Added new citations and added a new quote within Military Times← Previous revisionRevision as of 22:13, 18 October 2026 Line 71: Line 71: The announcement marked a change from earlier assessments that had questioned the feasibility of identifying the USS ''Arizona'' unknowns because of limited Family Reference Samples and the projected cost and time required to locate relatives. Independent reporting by ''[[Stars and Stripes (newspaper)|Stars and Stripes]]'' stated that Operation 85 had located the majority of the families needed to meet the threshold and that DPAA planned to begin disinterment operations in late 2026.{{Cite web |last=Burke |first=Matthew |date=March 4, 2026 |title=Plans set to disinter USS Arizona unknowns from Hawaii cemetery 85 years after Pearl Harbor |url=https://www.stripes.com/veterans/2026-03-04/pearl-harbor-identification-dpaa-20946569.html}} {{Cite web |last=McAvoy |first=Audrey |date=March 5, 2026 |title=US aims to exhume and identify 88 USS Arizona crew members buried as unknowns after Pearl Harbor |url=https://apnews.com/article/uss-arizona-pearl-harbor-unknowns-identification-7050d1c86460f2ca018ea77847530fe9 |url-status=live |website=apnews.com}} The announcement marked a change from earlier assessments that had questioned the feasibility of identifying the USS ''Arizona'' unknowns because of limited Family Reference Samples and the projected cost and time required to locate relatives. Independent reporting by ''[[Stars and Stripes (newspaper)|Stars and Stripes]]'' stated that Operation 85 had located the majority of the families needed to meet the threshold and that DPAA planned to begin disinterment operations in late 2026.{{Cite web |last=Burke |first=Matthew |date=March 4, 2026 |title=Plans set to disinter USS Arizona unknowns from Hawaii cemetery 85 years after Pearl Harbor |url=https://www.stripes.com/veterans/2026-03-04/pearl-harbor-identification-dpaa-20946569.html}} {{Cite web |last=McAvoy |first=Audrey |date=March 5, 2026 |title=US aims to exhume and identify 88 USS Arizona crew members buried as unknowns after Pearl Harbor |url=https://apnews.com/article/uss-arizona-pearl-harbor-unknowns-identification-7050d1c86460f2ca018ea77847530fe9 |url-status=live |website=apnews.com}} On May 11, 2026, DPAA Director Kelly McKeague presented Kevin Kline with the [[Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency|Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency’s]] Superior Public Service Award during DPAA’s annual All Hands meeting in Arlington, Virginia. A Department of Defense Visual Information Distribution Service caption stated that the award recognized Kline in his role as executive director of Operation 85 and described the organization’s work to identify USS ''Arizona'' unknown service members.{{Cite web |last=Holland |first=Stephen |date=May 11, 2026 |title=DPAA All Hands |url=https://www.dvidshub.net/image/9677693/2026-all-hands |website=DVIDS Digital Visual Information Distribution System}} On May 11, 2026, DPAA Director Kelly McKeague presented Kevin Kline with the [[Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency|Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency’s]] Superior Public Service Award during DPAA’s annual All Hands meeting in Arlington, Virginia. A Department of Defense Visual Information Distribution Service caption stated that the award recognized Kline in his role as executive director of Operation 85 and described the organization’s work to identify USS ''Arizona'' unknown service members.{{Cite web |last=Holland |first=Stephen |date=May 11, 2026 |title=DPAA All Hands |url=https://www.dvidshub.net/image/9677693/2026-all-hands |website=DVIDS Digital Visual Information Distribution System}} {{Cite web |last=Burke |first=Matthew |date=October 9, 2026 |title=Hundreds of USS Arizona families expected for Dec. 7 disinterment of WWII unknowns |url=https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/2026-10-09/pearl-harbor-arizona-unknowns-punchbowl-23100763.html |website=Stars and Stripes}} Director McKeague told Military Times," ''“Being able to disinter the 86 Unknowns associated with USS Arizona is'' ''singularly due to the determined initiative and extraordinary efforts of Operation 85."'' {{Cite web |last=Sisk |first=Richard |date=October 9, 2026 |title=‘Unknown’ sailors and Marines from the battleship Arizona to be disinterred Dec. 7 |url=https://www.militarytimes.com/veterans/military-history/2026/10/09/unknown-sailors-and-marines-from-the-battleship-arizona-to-be-disinterred-dec-7/ |website=Military Times}} And “while USS Arizona families whose loved ones were lost on that fateful day can draw solace at the solemn memorial, DPAA is honored to be able to provide long-sought answers to families of these unknowns,” DPAA continued encouraging relatives of missing USS ''Arizona'' personnel to provide Family Reference Samples after the threshold was reached, noting that additional samples could assist future identifications. The planned project includes potentially 141 unknowns associated with the USS ''Arizona'' and other Pearl Harbor casualties buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. DPAA continued encouraging relatives of missing USS ''Arizona'' personnel to provide Family Reference Samples after the threshold was reached, noting that additional samples could assist future identifications. The planned project includes potentially 141 unknowns associated with the USS ''Arizona'' and other Pearl Harbor casualties buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.