Freedom native U.S. Navy hero laid to rest 82 years after Pearl Harbor attack

The Navy escorted World War II hero U.S. Navy Fireman 1st Class Walter F. Schleiter to his final resting place at the National Cemeteries of the Alleghenies on April 11, braving heavy rain with diligence and respect as family members and saluting veterans gave their last farewell while also paying tribute to his sacrifice and selflessness.

For 82 years, the Freedom, Beaver County, native's remains went unrecognized. The military classified him as non-recoverable due to his remains' condition after he was killed during the Dec. 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor attack while serving on the USS Oklahoma battleship at just 22 years old. He was a resident of Massillon, Ohio , at the time of his death.

Ohio coverage: His 82-year wait is over. Ohio Navy sailor killed in Pearl Harbor attack laid to rest

Lynn Such, 83, a cousin and closest next-of-kin to Schleiter, and her husband, Joseph, who reside in the Coraopolis area, described the funeral as overwhelming and were shocked to see how much the military worked toward getting Schleiter's remains to the next of kin.

“We didn't expect the turnout that showed up,” Such said. “ When we got to the funeral home, there were police cars, motorcycle drivers, Cub Scouts, and people with flags and American Legion people. People were standing on the roads with flags and saluting as we passed. So it was just surprising how much notoriety the funeral had, especially given that it was pouring down rain, these people were all standing out in the rain saluting, which was a little overwhelming.”

According to Joseph Such, the Navy contacted him and his wife last December. This surprised them because they weren't even aware of Schleiter's existence. He was killed when Lynn was just 1 year old. In May 2018, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency identified Schleiter as part of its mission to recover personnel missing in action from past conflicts. A Navy casualty officer was able to locate possible family last fall, eventually finding Lynn Such.

As the closest last of kin to Schleiter, Lynn Such joined with Navy representatives involved in the USS Oklahoma Project and spent hours signing papers and deciding on Schleiter's burial place. In the end, she chose the National Cemeteries of the Alleghenies in Cecil Township, Washington County.

“The Navy contacted us last, in the fall of last year, and eventually, they came out to our house,” Joseph Such said. The two of them spent a couple of hours here at the house. My wife had to sign papers and so forth and make decisions about where we wanted to bury him.

DPAA initiated the USS Oklahoma Project in 2003 to identify the remains of those who were unaccounted for and unidentified following the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack by Japanese forces. To aid in the identification of unknown soldiers on the USS Oklahoma, the Navy's DPAA Office reached out to relatives via letter or phone to request a DNA sample under the Family Reference Sample Program. DNA profiling starts with a sample from a surviving family member, known as a "reference sample."

Joseph Such explained that while Lynn is Schleiter's next-of-kin, she was different from the original family that provided a reference sample for the project.

Between December 1941 and June 1944, Navy personnel retrieved the remains of the dead crew and buried them in the Halawa and Nu'uanu cemeteries. However, in October 1949, those, including Schleiter, who could not be identified were classified as non-recoverable by the U.S. military. As of 2015, 388 service members were missing and unaccounted for. However, since then, 356 have been identified individually like Schleiter.

“It was amazing the amount of effort the government put into this. It just surprised me," Such said. "All the information they had, and the effort it took to do this entire project, and this is only one person.”

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Freedom native U.S. Navy hero laid to rest 82 years after Pearl Harbor attack