Help Identify Unknown Sailors & Marines from the U.S.S. Arizona
“UNKNOWN” NO MORE: Support Operation 85’s mission to identify 85 or more crew members removed from the ship in 1942, or found near the U.S.S. Arizona after the attack, never identified, and left buried in commingled graves ten miles away from Pearl Harbor, marked only as “UNKNOWN USS ARIZONA”.
December 7, 1941 — A Legacy Still Unfolding
Operation 85 began in 2023 with one U.S.S. Arizona family member asking a simple question: after more than 80 years, could modern DNA, genealogy, and determined family outreach finally help identify the men still buried as Unknowns? What started as Kevin Kline’s personal search for answers about his great-uncle grew into a nationwide family-led mission that located relatives, helped build the DNA representation needed to move the project forward, and ultimately helped transform the U.S.S. Arizona identification effort from a distant possibility into a historic reality. Today, Operation 85 is an official partner of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, families are preparing for the December 7, 2026 disinterment ceremony in Hawaii, and the next chapter is about to begin. No identifications have happened yet — the work of restoring names to these Unknowns begins with the disinterment and forensic process ahead. If you are new to this story, whether as a family member, supporter, or visitor, we invite you to learn how this extraordinary mission began, why it matters, and how ordinary people helped move history forward.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
TOTAL USS Arizona DNA Numbers
Disclosure: Operation 85 is an independent, non-governmental organization. AFDIL statistics displayed here are provided to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency in support of USS Arizona families and the identification mission. Operation 85 is an official partner with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), and works cooperatively with AFDIL, the US Navy / US Marine Corps Service Casualty Offices, and other government agencies. However, nothing on this site should be interpreted as implying government affiliation or endorsement.
AFDIL Progress Tracking Report
Meet the Family Member Behind Operation 85
Kevin Kline is the grandnephew of GM2c Robert Edwin Kline, who was killed aboard the U.S.S. Arizona on December 7, 1941. What began as a personal search for answers became Operation 85 — a family-led mission that grew into a nationally recognized effort to help identify the U.S.S. Arizona Unknowns. Learn how an ordinary husband, father, and business owner found his patriotic moment and built a mission centered on remembrance, service, and bringing names back to America’s missing heroes.
WATCH: How Operation 85 Started
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U.S.S. ARIZONA BB-39 CREW BIOS December 1941
In 2015, Bobbie Jo Buel from Tucson, Arizona, started a project to research and write a biography about each crew member killed aboard the U.S.S. Arizona on behalf of the U.S.S. Arizona Mall Memorial at the University of Arizona. Her amazing work was completed just in time for the memorials opening and is being published and preserved on this website. As we meet and discover new family members during “Operation 85”, the task of telling these servicemen’s story will always be a “work in progress”. Please reach out if you have any information, pictures or documents to share about a particular service member aboard the U.S.S. Arizona.
WATCH: The History of the USS Arizona Unknowns & “Operation 85”
News & Info about the U.S.S. Arizona BB-39 and "Operation 85"
Join the Mission: Help Resolve and Identify 85 or More of the USS Arizona Crew that have been left buried as UNKNOWN in Commingled Graves.
Family Members, your participation is Needed!
It’s Safe, Secure & Free of Charge! Be a part of this historical mission and the collective goal to remove “Unknown” from over 140 graves.
Thank you to our Mission Partners
