Fallen Louisiana Navy veteran laid to rest on the 81st anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - A fallen Louisiana Navy veteran is home on the 81st anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack.

Seaman’s first-class Houston Temples was honored and finally laid to rest today in Bogalusa, 81 years after his death.

Bagpipes played, and American flags waved as the community and service members paid their respects to a soldier who gave his life for our country on a tragic day in American history.

Temples died in the U.S.S. Oklahoma on Dec. 7, 1941; today, more than 80 years later, he finally had a proper burial.

The crowd gathered at “American Legion Hall” in Bogalusa Wednesday afternoon to honor Temples, whose remains were not identified until April of this year.

“361 of about 396 have been identified and Seaman First Class Houston Temples was one of them. And so when they identified the remains, one of the neat things they were able to do was put the remains in a casket. They put the uniform in there with him and they send them back home because we want to provide some closure for the families and to be honest, it’s just nice to get the sailor back home,” said Rear Admiral Terry Eddinger.

On Dec. 5, his remains were flown into New Orleans and escorted across the lake.                

Temples was one of more than 400 soldiers who died when Japanese troops bombed the Oklahoma.

He was one of more than 2300 who died during the attack on pearl harbor.

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