Distinguished World War II Veteran and Medal of Honor recipient Seaman First Class James Richard Ward was laid to rest with the solemnity befitting his heroism in a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on 21 December. He was accorded full military honors.
Ward was assigned to the USS Oklahoma (BB-37) when she was sunk during the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for remaining on board and guiding his shipmates to safety with a flashlight.
A total of 16 service members, ranging in rank from seaman to rear admiral, were awarded Medals of Honor related to events at Pearl Harbor, 11 posthumously. Ward’s family was presented the Medal of Honor in March 1942.
In 2003, the USS Oklahoma Project set out to identify the remains of the sailors lost with the Nevada-class battleship. Of the 394 service members originally deemed unaccounted for, 361 sailors and Marines have since been individually identified. In 2022, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced that it had positively identified Ward’s remains.
