DPAA Confirms USS Arizona Unknowns Disinterment Request Will Move Forward

Dear Family Members and Supporters,

In one of the most significant developments ever announced regarding the U.S.S. Arizona Unknowns buried in the commingled graves at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) has confirmed that the disinterment request memorandum is fully drafted and ready to advance to the Department of Defense as soon as the remaining DNA Family Reference Sample kits are returned to and processed by the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory. (AFDIL)

The DPAA Director recently reconfirmed in an email to Operation 85 that 643 is the correct threshold, and AFDIL has indicated they are very close to meeting that number. The search for additional families is no longer required to pass the threshold—enough have already been located and are participating—but not all kits from family have been received back. Operation 85, however, will continue to locate every family we can so that the identifications made in the next phase are as complete and successful as possible.

This milestone marks the closest we have ever been to advancing into the next phase: the exhumation and identification of 141 sets of unknown Pearl Harbor remains, most of which are expected to be associated with the U.S.S. Arizona Unknowns. It also represents a clear shift in DPAA’s willingness to push this effort forward. We remain optimistic that DPAA and Operation 85 can work closely together in this next phase, with Operation 85 able to provide its own critical research, documentation, and material support.

Operation 85’s work has not only involved locating families and requesting DNA. OP85 has also compiled one of the most extensive collections of personnel files, photographs, letters, dental charts, enlistment and medical records, IDPFs, and other documents tied to the missing crew of the U.S.S. Arizona. These materials will be vital to DPAA once the identification phase begins.

This past week brought an overwhelming amount of press interest, and we are grateful to our partners in the media who have pledged to follow our progress and help maintain awareness and transparency. Many family members reached out to congratulate me personally, but I want to be very clear: I was just one family member with one DNA kit. It took all of us—every family that participated, every kit that was returned, every person who believed this could be done—to reach this point. Thousands participated, and the families delivered. I am deeply grateful.

As always, I continue to be grateful for our Operation 85 team; John Hardy, Melinde Byrne and Danny Abel. Their hard work behind the scenes continues to play a pivotal role in my ability to move our mission forward.

I also want to thank the dedicated professionals at the U.S. Navy Casualty Office, U.S. Marine Corps Casualty Office, and the exceptional scientists, technicians, and staff at AFDIL. Their commitment made the mailing, processing, and analysis of these DNA kits possible. This has truly been a team effort across many hands.

I recognize that I only entered the U.S.S. Arizona Unknowns story three years ago, and that many families before me carried this torch long before I ever knew it existed. They kept the memory of the crew alive, spoke up when few were listening, and ensured the unknowns were never forgotten. And had it not been for relentless family members such as Randy Stratton, son of U.S.S. Arizona survivor Donald Stratton—leaving me messages, sending me emails, and making sure I understood every piece of this story from the very beginning—I might never have found my place in this important mission.

As we approach 2026 and the 85th anniversary next year, my commitment is not only to continue pushing for the identification of the unknowns, but also to honor the full story of the U.S.S. Arizona’s crew. Our website will begin sharing the histories, the faces, and the legacies of every man aboard—including the survivors—so that every family member has a home within this effort.

We will have exciting updates for you in our next message on December 7th—news about how our U.S.S. Arizona family community is about to grow even larger and even stronger. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, I want to wish each of you a safe and meaningful Thanksgiving weekend. We have a great deal to be thankful for this year.

It’s impossible… until it isn’t.

With gratitude and unwavering determination,

Kevin Kline
Executive Director
U.S.S. Arizona “Operation 85”
“Grandnephew of GM2c Robert Edwin Kline, U.S.S. Arizona”