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Fallen USS California Hero from Pearl Harbor Finally Honored
Cheryle Stone was unaware of her second cousin, David Walker, until the U.S. Navy contacted her in 2021, requesting a DNA sample. This connection to history was revealed when the DNA matched.
Walker, a 19-year-old Black sailor in a segregated Navy, served as a mess attendant 3rd class on the USS California during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Two torpedoes struck the battleship, followed by enemy bombs, resulting in 102 fatalities, including Walker.
Post-attack, the remains of 42 unidentified sailors and Marines were buried at Halawa Naval Cemetery in Hawaii. The Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency exhumed these graves in 2018 to identify them via DNA testing, leading to Stone discovering her cousin’s fate.
Stone had limited knowledge of her maternal family, as her mother died when she was five. She and her sister were raised by a church member. A Navy letter discovered by her nephew prompted her to respond to the Navy’s inquiries.
In January 2024, two Navy chiefs visited Stone, presenting materials related to Walker, including a letter her aunt wrote to the Navy in December 1941. Stone felt the emotional weight of her aunt’s unanswered plea for information about her son.
Stone decided that Walker’s remains should be interred at Arlington National Cemetery, stating, “He deserved the honor of being at Arlington.”
On September 6, 2024, Stone, alongside 20 family members and friends, attended Walker’s funeral at Arlington’s Section 62. U.S. Navy Chaplain (Lt.) Jennifer Miles declared, “Today, Mess Attendant 3rd Class David Walker takes his rightful place here on these hallowed grounds.”
Rear Adm. Mike Brown of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare presented a folded flag to Stone and highlighted the significance of remembering Seaman Walker’s service. He emphasized the Navy’s recognition of the contributions of African American sailors in 1941.
Concluding the service, Stone read Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 and led a prayer, honoring her cousin’s memory. She concluded with a heartfelt declaration, “Aunt Edna, your baby boy is home and he’s being laid to rest.”
