Connolly, Keefe Richard
Navy Hospital apprentice 1st class

Keefe Richard Connolly, age 19, from Markesan, Wisconsin, Green Lake county.

Parents: Richard James Connolly

Service era: World War II

Date of death: December 7, 1941

Death details:  On February 11, 2021, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Hospital Apprentice Third Class Keefe Richard Connolly, missing from World War II.

Hospital Apprentice Connolly joined the U.S. Navy from Wisconsin. He was stationed aboard the USS Oklahoma on December 7, 1941, when the ship came under attack from Japanese forces at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The Oklahoma capsized during the attack, and HA1 Connolly was killed in the incident. His remains were recovered from the ship following the attack; however, they could not be identified at the time, and were buried as unknown remains at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii. In 2015, the DPAA received authorization to reexamine unknown remains associated with the Oklahoma using new forensic techniques. HA1 Connolly’s remains were exhumed and identified as part of this effort.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency