SCHLEITER; WALTER FAY
UNITED STATES NAVY
WORLD WAR II
OH
Individual Type Accounted For
Rank F1c
Service Number 2833716
Location Hawaiian Islands
Date of Loss 12/07/1941
Unit USS Oklahoma; UNITED STATES NAVY

https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000XgTcEAK

On May 18, 2018, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Fireman First Class Walter Fay Schleiter, missing from World War II.

Fireman First Class Schleiter, who joined the U.S. Navy from Ohio, served on the USS Oklahoma (BB-37) and was aboard the ship during the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941. He was killed in the attack, and while his remains were recovered from the ship following the incident, they could not be individually identified at the time. F1 Schleiter was initially buried as an unknown at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. In 2015, modern forensic techniques prompted the reexamination and identification of F1 Schleiter’s remains.

Fireman First Class Schleiter is memorialized in the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/Recent-News-Stories/Article/1558709/uss-oklahoma-sailor-killed-during-world-war-ii-accounted-for-schleiter-w/

News | June 25, 2018

USS Oklahoma Sailor Killed During World War II Accounted For (Schleiter, W.)

By DPAA Public Affairs

WASHINGTON – Navy Fireman 1st Class Walter F. Schleiter, killed during the attack on the USS Oklahoma in World War II, was accounted for on May 18, 2018.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Schleiter 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 Schleiter.

In 2015, DPAA disinterred remains from the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu.

DPAA is grateful to the Department of Veterans Affairs for their partnership in this mission.

Interment services are pending; more details will be released 7-10 days prior to scheduled funeral services.

Schleiter's name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from World War II. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

For more information about DPAA, visit www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa, or call 703-699-1420.

Schlieter's personnel profile can be seen at

https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000XgTcEAK