Pearl Harbor Sailor from South Carolina to be buried in National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific

Fire Controlman 1^st Class Hubert Clement (right), a native of Inman, South Carolina, who died aboard the USS Oklahoma during the Dec. 7, 1941 attack of Pearl Harbor, will have his remains buried on October 10th, in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, with full military honors.

Fire Controlmen were highly skilled technicians responsible for the operation of various forms of range finding gear, as well as the solving of ballistics calculations to control the firing of the ship’s guns.

Clement served on the USS Oklahoma, a battle ship that was hit by several Japanese torpedoes during the country’s attack on Pearl Harbor. With its port side torn open over much of its length, the ship rolled over and sank to the bottom of the harbor. Over 400 crewmembers, including Clement, died during the attack.

Salvage efforts at Pearl Harbor concentrated on the least damaged ships first, so the Oklahoma ended up being one of the last ships to receive attention in March of 1943. When the ship was finally righted in 1944, 429 Sailors’ remains were recovered. Of these, only 35 were able to be identified. The remains of 388 unidentified Sailors and Marines were first interred as “unknowns” in two cemeteries. Over the years, some of the remains have been disinterred in an attempt to identify more personnel. On January 28th, 2021, the 300th “unknown” was identified.

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