Arthur Clarence Neuenschwander

World War II
-
MIA
Fallen

Fessenden, ND


County:
Wells

Date of Loss:

Recovered:
Remains recovered

Branch of Service:
Navy

Rank:
Gunner's Mate 1st Class

Company / Ship / Flight or equivalent:
USS Oklahoma

Major Battle/Theatre:
Asiatic

Engagements/Battles:
Pearl Harbor
Engagement:
Pearl Harbor

Circumstances:

Died while in MIA status. Crew member aboard the USS Oklahoma, killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor along with 428 fellow crewmen.

North Dakotans lost on the Oklahoma:

  • Radioman Second Class Walter H. Backman of Wilton, Burleigh County, North Dakota. Remains accounted for 7/17/2017.
  • Fireman First Class Charles R. Casto of North Dakota. Remains accounted for 11/21/2016
  • Fireman First Class Lawrence H. Fecho of Upham, McHenry County North Dakota. Remains accounted for 2/21/2017.
  • Fireman First Class Edward D. Johnson of New Rockford, Eddy County, North Dakota. Remains accounted for 9/29/2020.
  • Seaman Second Class Charles H. Johannes of Foxholm, Ward County, North Dakota. Remains accounted for 10/18/2021.
  • Gunners Mate First Class Arthur C. Neuenschwander of Fessenden, Wells County, North Dakota. Remains accounted for 11/8/2017.
  • Seaman Second Class Calvin H. Palmer (Brother to Wilferd D. Palmer) of Minot, Ward County, North Dakota. Remains accounted for 3/19/2019.
  • Seaman Second Class Wilferd D. Palmer (Brother to Calvin H. Palmer) of Minot, Ward County, North Dakota. Remains accounted for 3/19/2019.
  • SFC Everett I. Severinson of Reynolds, Grand Forks County, North Dakota. 

On November 8, 2016, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Gunner's Mate First Class Arthur Clarence Neuenschwander, missing from World War II.

Gunner's Mate First Class Neuenschwander joined the U.S. Navy from North Dakota and served aboard the USS Oklahoma (BB-37). He was aboard the ship at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, when it came under attack by Japanese aircraft, and was one of the men killed when it capsized after being torpedoed. His remains could not be identified among those recovered from the ship afterwards, meaning they were part of the group of remains interred as unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. However, modern forensic techniques were able to separate and identify GM1 Neuenschwander’s remains from the unknowns buried there.

Gunner's Mate First Class Neuenschwander is memorialized in the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

If you are a family member of this service member, you may contact your casualty office representative to learn more about your service member. 

Biography:

Memorialized at the USS Oklahoma Memorial, and Hillside Cemetery in Fessenden, ND. June 16, 2017: Update. Remains accounted for: Fulfilling Our Nation€™s Promise USS Oklahoma Sailor Killed In World War II Accounted For The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman from World War II have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors. Navy Gunner€™s Mate 1st Class Arthur C. Neuenschwander, 33, of Fessenden, North Dakota, will be buried June 24 in his hometown. On Dec. 7, 1941, Neuenschwander was assigned to the USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft. 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 Neuenschwander. From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and Nu€™uanu Cemeteries. In September 1947, tasked with recovering and identifying fallen U.S. personnel in the Pacific Theater, members of the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the two cemeteries and transferred them to the Central Identification Laboratory at Schofield Barracks. The laboratory staff was only able to confirm the identifications of 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at that time. The AGRS subsequently buried the unidentified remains in 46 plots at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In October 1949, a military board classified those who could not be identified as non-recoverable, including Neuenschwander. In April 2015, the Deputy Secretary of Defense issued a policy memorandum directing the disinterment of unknowns associated with the USS Oklahoma. On June 15, 2015, DPAA personnel began exhuming the remains from the NMCP for analysis. ­ To identify Neuenschwander€™s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial (mtDNA) DNA analysis, which matched a brother, a sister and two nephews, as well as circumstantial evidence and laboratory analysis, to include dental comparisons. Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war. Currently there are 73,054 service members (approximately 34,000 are assessed as possibly-recoverable) still unaccounted for from World War II. For additional information on the Defense Department€™s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or call (703) 699-1420.