Wilferd Dewey Palmer

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. 

From DPAA:

On March 19, 2019, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Seaman Second Class Wilferd Dewey Palmer, missing from World War II.

Seaman Second Class Palmer entered 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 from Japanese aircraft. SEA2 Palmer was killed in the attack, and while his remains were recovered from the ship following the incident, they were not identified at the time and he was buried as an unknown at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii. In 2015, advances in forensic techniques prompted the reexamination of unidentified remains from the Oklahoma, and SEA2 Palmer was eventually identified from among them.

Seaman Second Class Palmer is memorialized on 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.