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Remains of soldier killed at Pearl Harbor buried in Thomas

The Inter-Mountain photos by Edgar Kelley Active Navy personnel carry out the casket of Navy Patternmaker 1st Class Stanislaw F. Drwall during his funeral Thursday at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Thomas.

THOMAS — The remains of Navy Patternmaker 1st Class Stanislaw F. Drwall — who was killed aboard the battleship USS Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941 — were laid to rest during a full military funeral in his hometown of Thomas Thursday.

The remains of Drwall, who was 25 when he died, were exhumed from Honolulu Cemetery in 2015, but it wasn’t until March 25 of this year that his remains were identified by scientists using DNA. Thursday would have been Drwall’s 105th birthday.

For years an empty grave was designated for him in Mount Calvary Cemetery in Thomas on the chance he would return home.

“It was a long time coming, but we are glad he finally made it back home,” said Fred Myers, vice chairman of the Tucker County Veterans Association. “Today was a special day and I hope we can continue to bring more of our veterans home in the future.”

More than 100 people attended the funeral, including military personnel, firefighters, police officers, veterans and civilians. Drwall’s family members, Harold and Mary Ann Ryther of Mecca, Ohio, were seated next to the flag-draped casket.

Patriot Guard Rider member Susan Whitlatch presents mementos to Mary Ann Ryther during Stanislaw F. Drwall’s funeral at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Thomas Thursday. Ryther is the niece of Drwall. Also pictured is her husband, Harold Ryther.

Mary Ann Ryther, who is Drwall’s niece, was given several mementos by the Patriot Guard Riders before being presented with the American flag after the ceremonial folding.

“Stanley left behind home and heart at a young age to answer a call to serve his country in the United States Navy,” Gary Riggs, a retired military veteran and Thomas community leader, said in a speech during the ceremony. “His career would be that of a Navy Patternmaker, a craftsman that could take any broken part on a Navy warship and fix it.

“On Dec. 7th, 1941, Stanley was undoubtedly up early, having his breakfast and possibly planning his day as normal before that beautiful morning turned to chaos and Stanley’s world, like many others, was turned upside down.”

Firefighters and police from throughout the area, along with the Patriot Guard Riders, led Drwall’s hearse from Hinkle-Fenner Funeral Home to his final resting place.

“We are honored to be a part of bringing him home, to bring him where he belongs,” Patriot Guard Rider member Susan Whitlatch told Mary Ann Ryther during the funeral services. “Please accept our sincere condolences from the Patriot Guard Riders nationwide. Stanley is truly one of our American heroes.”

A large group of military veterans with flags in hand stand next to the gravesite of Navy Patternmaker 1st Class Stanislaw F. Drwall, who was laid to rest at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Thomas Thursday.

Drwall’s remains arrived in his hometown from Pittsburgh late Wednesday night. He was flown commercially into Pennsylvania from an air base in Nebraska. On his way home, several cities — including Garrett, Maryland — had streets lined with citizens cheering and paying their respects.

“There were a lot of people out on the street when we came through Garrett,” said Jordan Fenner, owner-director of Hinkle-Fenner Funeral Home. “And of course folks were out on the streets of both Davis and Thomas when we came through. When you take into account history, plus the circumstances of why we were here today, something like this, none of us will see again in our life.”

Myers, who is a U.S. Navy veteran (1955-1964), helped with some of Thursday’s arrangements and said he was friends with Drwall’s brother, Ed, who used to stop by his house to talk once the two were retired from the service. He said the two also drove to Washington D.C. from time-to-time.

“I called as many veterans as I could to come out today and we had a very good turnout,” Myers said. “There was a lot more at the cemetery than I had called. It was nice to see so many people come out and pay their respects. That was one real good turnout and it really made me feel good.”

A total of 429 crew members of the USS Oklahoma were killed on Dec. 7, 1941, which President Franklin D. Roosevelt famously proclaimed as a date which will live in infamy. During the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, several torpedoes from torpedo-bomber airplanes hit the Oklahoma’s hull and the ship capsized.

A news release from the Defense POW / MIA Accounting Agency explains that from December 1941 to June 1944, remains of the 429 crewmen killed during the attack on the USS Oklahoma were recovered. The remains gathered during the recovery were interred in the Halawa and Nu’uanu cemeteries in Hawaii.

In 1947, the remains were exhumed, but only 35 identifications were made. The other unidentified remains were buried in 46 plots in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu.

In October 1949, Drwall officially was considered nonrecoverable after his remains could not be identified.

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