Family says Ky. native killed serving at Pearl Harbor finally gets the honor he deserved

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Eighty years after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the bodies of U.S. servicemembers are still being identified.

James Thomas Cheshire, known as Tom, was one of 429 sailors on the U.S.S. Oklahoma when the Japanese attacked, capsizing the battleship.

Captain Robert McMahon is the director at Navy Casualty and has been working to identify the remains of servicemembers lost at Pearl Harbor.

"We owe it to those families to bring their loved ones home," McMahon said.

Cheshire was born in New Hope, Kentucky, then moved to Louisville where he enlisted in the Navy at 19 years old in 1919. He went on to serve as Chief Pharmacist Mate on the U.S.S. Oklahoma.

"Our primary mission is any fallen sailor, marine around the world, we get them home. Doesn't matter where they are in the world. We get them home to their families," McMahon said.

Cheshire was identified in 2018 thanks to family members submitting a sample of their DNA to match remains found on the U.S.S. Oklahoma.

"It's just great. We're able to harness technology and really just bring closure to a lot of these families around the world," McMahon said.

Cheshire will finally receive a burial and full military honors Friday, July 22, at Arlington National Cemetery.

The identification of Cheshire is now changing the lives of his descendants. Betty Tucker in Florence, Kentucky, found out she's connected to the Cheshire family for the first time because of the identification.

"To find family that I didn't know was there and get an opportunity to meet them, it's exciting," Tucker said.

The upcoming burial feeling full circle for descendant Jamie Blanford, from the New Hope area, who also works within the Department of the Navy in Louisville.

"It gives me better sense of pride in my work that what I do protects people," Blanford said. "I had a relative die for the US Navy, so it makes me feel honored to be part of the Navy."

All the loose ends are coming together in Arlington, Virginia, this week, decades later after Cheshire's death. About 40 members of the Cheshire family will go to the burial ceremony and then there's a planned family reunion.

"I think this is going to be an important closure in that link of the family and I think it just being extremely satisfying and gratifying," Tucker said.

Navy Casualties said there are still 33 unknown sailors waiting for identification from the U.S.S. Oklahoma.