Serving something greater than ourselves

May 26, 2025

Flag flying over the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor

No aspect of this post is created using any type of AI. All mistakes are mine, a real human.

THINKING ABOUT:
On June 21, 2017 I was flying from Minneapolis to Fargo, ND for a book event. I noticed the Navy chaplain in uniform as soon as I boarded, but it wasn’t until I heard the captain’s announcement that I got goose bumps. The captain informed us that we were part of an honor flight, bringing a service member’s remains home, and asked us to wait when we got to Fargo before deplaning. I texted my husband, who quickly figured out who the service member was: Gunners Mate 1st Class Arthur Clarence Neuenschwander, killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor.

I was astonished, as I had no idea that the Armed Forces had units dedicated to identifying remains and bringing them home to family members. Neuenschwander, then 32, was assigned to the USS Oklahoma, which was docked at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked by Japanese aircraft on Dec. 7, 1941. Unlike the USS Arizona, the Oklahoma did not sink and was put in dry dock.The Navy did its best to identify remains immediately following the war, but could only identify 35 personnel by 1947.

After the war, the U.S. Army was tasked with locating and identifying all U.S. service casualties worldwide, creating the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS). By 1950, AGRS determined that no other personnel from the USS Oklahoma could be identified and the remains were buried in 62 caskets as “Unknown” at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.

But beginning in 2003, DNA technology had advanced to the point that they could begin to identify people using family DNA samples. By 2019, AGRS had identified 200 personnel and sent them home on honor flights like the one I witnessed.

It was special to meet the family at baggage claim and hear about their loved one.

Stories of our military honoring those who make the ultimate sacrifice always make me cry. On Memorial Day, I want to thank all the military personnel who have had the difficult task of this work, whether that’s working from 50-year-old disinterred caskets or diving into 225 feet of water off the coast of New Guinea to recover remains and get them home to their families.

WATCHING:
While there are many great WWII films, the Band of Brothers mini-series (HBO/Netflix) captures the horror and sacrifice better than nearly all of them.

READING: Life’s Work: A Moral Argument for Choice by Dr. Willie Parker
I had the honor of meeting Dr. Willie at the San Diego Writers Festival in April, and just finished his riveting book. He details his journey of becoming a Black ob/gyn, a man who for years opted out of performing abortion care due to his Christian beliefs. Along the way he had a reckoning about the true importance of abortion care and makes the case that it’s as important as every other type of medical care. His form of service to a cause greater than himself involves traveling to clinics in the South—sometimes to the only remaining clinic in the state—to provide this care for women who need and request it. It’s a powerful call to action now more than ever since Roe was overturned.

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Here’s the Amazon link if you prefer.

Fun To Be Around is written by me, Stephanie Weaver, MPH an author and TED talk coach. I post for the delight of writing and connecting. No paywalls, ever. If you enjoy my writing and find yourself looking forward to the next issue, support my work as a disabled writer with a $5 monthly subscription. I love hearing from you, whether that's by email or in the comments where you're reading this.