Body of Dawson native killed in Pearl Harbor attack identified

~~By Cherry Howell

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941. The attack led to the United States' entry into World War II.

At 7:48 a.m. the base was attacked by 353 Japanese fighters, bombers and torpedo planes in two waves, launched from six aircraft carriers. All eight U.S. Navy battleships were damaged, with four being sunk. All but one were later raised, and six of the eight battleships returned to service and fought in the war. The Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship and one minelayer. 188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed; 2,402 Americans were killed and 1,282 wounded.

A Native of Dawson was one of the valiant men who lost his life in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941. Lieutenant Julian Bethune Jordan was born in Dawson, GA on April 11, 1904, the son of Mr. and Mrs. E. T. Jordan. He graduated from Dawson High School and graduated from the Naval Academy, Annapolis, in 1925. Julian Jordan was appointed a Midshipman from Georgia on June 29, 1921, and was commissioned an interim Ensign June 4, 1925. He was commissioned regular Ensign June 4, 1925; Lieutenant (Junior Grade) June 4, 1928; Lieutenant July 1, 1935.

After accepting and executing his oath of office as Ensign he served duty on the U.S.S. SANDS, PITTSBURGH, PENGUIN, and U.S.S. HELENA. In May 1929 he was assigned duty with the Destroyer Squadron fifteen. His next duty was with the US.S. RIZAL, and the Receiving Ship, New York, New York.

He served on the U.S.S. CHESTER, on the U.S.S. DOBBIN, and at various shore stations until 1932. He was in command of the U.S.S. UMPQUA from June, 1932 until January, 1936. He was on the Naval Examining Board, Navy Department, Washington. D. C. and at the Receiving Station, Navy Yard, Washington, D. C. until July 19, 1938. He reported to the battleship U.S.S. OKLAHOMA August 4, 1938 where he served as Assistant Engineering Officer.

On 7 December 1941, the OKLAHOMA was sunk by several bombs and torpedoes during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. A total of 429 crew died when she capsized in Battleship Row. In 1943 OKLAHOMA was righted and salvaged. However, unlike most of the other battleships that were recovered following Pearl Harbor, the OKLAHOMA was too damaged to return to duty.

The USS Jordan (DE-204), a Buckley-class destroyer escort of the U.S. Navy was named in honor of Lieutenant Julian Bethune Jordan. The U.S.S. Jordan was launched August 23, 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Lucy Hamilton Jordan, widow of Lieutenant Jordan; commissioned on Dec. 17, 1943.

**The above is an article written by Cherry Howell several years ago about Lieutenant Jordan.

**The below news release was posted on August 22, 2016 by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)

~~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 Lt. Julian B. Jordan, 37, of Dawson, Georgia, will be buried August 29 in Bremerton, Washington. On Dec. 7, 1941, Jordan 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 Jordan. No single vessel at Pearl Harbor, with the exception of the USS Arizona, suffered as many fatalities.

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 Jordan.

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 Jordan’s remains, scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used mitochondrial DNA analysis, which matched three cousins, as well as circumstantial evidence and laboratory analysis, to include dental comparisons, which matched Jordan’s records.

Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war.

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 or call (703) 699-1420.