Last Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs held a confirmation hearing to consider Denis R. McDonough for the position of Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The full Senate must vote on McDonough’s nomination before he can be confirmed. McDonough emphasized his qualifications for the position by stating, “I can unstick problems inside agencies and across agencies, especially at an agency as large as VA.”
POW/MIA Update
U.S. Navy Water Tender 1st Class Oliver K. Burger, 26, was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft on Dec. 7, 1941. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Burger. Interment services are pending.
U.S. Navy Fireman 1st Class Wesley J. Brown, 25, was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor. Interment services are pending.
U.S. Navy Fireman 1st Class Beoin H. Corzatt, 24, was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor. Interment services are pending.
U.S. Navy Seaman 1st Class Gerald J. Bailey, 24, was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor. Interment services are pending.
U.S. Navy Shipfitter 3rd Class Robert E. Bailey, 21, was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor. Interment services are pending.
U.S. Navy Radioman 3rd Class Earl M. Ellis, 23, was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor. Interment services are pending.
U.S. Navy Radioman 3rd Class Thomas E. Griffith, 20, of Dayton, Ohio, was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor. Griffith will be buried May 22, 2021, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.
Till next week, praying for all service members.
– Charles Castelluccio
