Everett Cecil Titterington, who died aboard the USS Oklahoma in the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, returned to family last week to be laid to rest.
Nearly 83 years after his death, Titterington was buried Saturday, Sept. 7, at Riverside National Cemetery. His first cousin, Mary Anna Hambrock, was present as well as military personnel and several veterans. His family lives in Rancho Mirage, California.
Titterington was born in Terril, Iowa and enlisted in the U.S. Navy from Iowa. He was a 21-year-old fireman first class serving on the battleship USS Oklahoma on Dec. 7, 1941, when it was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor and attacked by Japanese forces, according to a news release from Navy Personnel Command.
The Oklahoma was hit by multiple torpedoes, and ultimately capsized. Titterington was among the 429 sailors and marines who died in the attack.
Titterington, whose remains were not identified at the time of the attack, was buried in Honolulu.
In 2015, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency received authorization to exhume unknown remains associated with the Oklahoma and reexamine them, said the release. Laboratory analysis and circumstantial evidence established the identity of Titterington’s remains, according to a news release from Honoring Our Fallen.
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Titterington received multiple awards and decorations for his service and sacrifice, including a Purple Heart Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, American Defense Service Medal, Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal and World War II Victory Medal.
His remains were returned to family on Wednesday, Sept. 4, before his burial at Riverside National Cemetery.
