Kubinec, William Paul
Navy Fireman 2nd class

William Paul Kubinec, age 21, from Portage County Garrettsville, Ohio .

Parents: John Kubinec

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Sunday, December 7, 1941
Death details: On November 5, 2019, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Fireman 2nd Class William Paul Kubinec, missing from World War II. Kubinec entered the U.S. Navy from Ohio and served aboard the USS West Virginia (BB-48) during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He was killed during the attack and although his remains were recovered during salvage operations, they could not be individually identified at the time. Kubinec was eventually buried as an unknown at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii, also known as the Punchbowl. In 2017, DPAA exhumed 35 caskets from the Punchbowl that contained remains associated with the West Virginia. DPAA scientists used laboratory and anthropological analyses to identify Kubinec from among these remains.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency