Pearl sailor to be buried at NASP

PORT EDWARDS, Wis. - A Wisconsin sailor who died at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, will be laid to rest more than 75 years after his death at the Barrancas National Cemetery onboard Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Fla., later this month. Navy Pharmacist Mate 1st Class John Schoonover of Port Edwards, Wis., was among 429 crewmen who died aboard the USS Oklahoma after Japanese torpedoes capsized the ship on Dec. 7, 1941. Schoonover was 39. He had been among unidentified fallen sailors who were buried in a large gravesite in Hawaii. The Department of Defense increased efforts to ID service members who served in the Pacific Theater during WWII. Schoonover's son, Robert, of Panama City Beach, Fla., says confirmation of his father's remains has brought him closure. (Source: The Associated Press 06/21/18)