Story by Ava Chuppe
Contributing writer
am.chuppe@gmail.com
Gov. Matt Bevin has ordered flags across Kentucky to be at half-staff on July 19 to honor two Kentucky servicemen.
The men were killed in battle during World War II and the Korean War, but their remains were only identified recently.
Navy Seaman 1st Class Millard Burk Jr. of Pikeville, Kentucky, died in the attack on Pearl Harbor at age 19. He was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma on Dec. 7, 1941, when the ship was attacked by a Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma capsized after sustaining several torpedo hits, resulting in the deaths of Burk and 428 other crew members.
Burk’s unidentified remains were interred in the Punchbowl/National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific until 2015. He was successfully identified due to scientific analysis by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
Private 1st Class James Cletuis Williams of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, was also killed at 19, on July 20, 1950. He died somewhere near Taejon, Republic of Korea, while he was transporting patients from the Taejon Air Strip for the Medical Company, 34th Infantry Regiment of the 24th Infantry Division. Because of a large-scale enemy attack, the Division was forced to withdraw before Williams could be medically processed and evacuated.
Although Williams’ remains were unidentified at the time, he was transferred to the Punchbowl/National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific and buried as an unknown Korean War soldier. He was identified in 2018 after investigative efforts.
Both men have burial services on July 19. Burk is being buried at the Punchbowl/National Memorial Cemetery, while Williams is being buried at the Kentucky Veterans Cemetery West in his hometown of Hopkinsville.
Businesses, individuals, government agencies and organizations are welcome to honor these men by lowering the flag.
Flag status information can be found at http://governor.ky.gov/flag-status.