https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000XgnDEAS

On Sunday, December 7, 1941, Japanese carrier-based aircraft launched a surprise attack on the U.S. Navy base and ships at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. In the early minutes of the attack, the Tennessee-class battleship USS California (BB-44) was hit by two torpedoes, which pierced the ship's port side, and a bomb, which struck the ship's upper deck. The ship sustained significant damage during the attack and roughly 100 sailors and Marines were lost during the incident. The California sank slowly in the days following the attack, but was eventually re-floated, repaired, and returned to duty.

Fireman First Class Howard Lucas Adkins, who joined the U.S. Navy from West Virginia, was aboard the California at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack. He was lost during the incident, and his remains were not recovered. Today, Fireman First Class Adkins is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual's case to be in the analytical category of Deferred.