[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 128 (Friday, July 28, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1100]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          IN RECOGNITION OF NAVY YEOMAN 3RD CLASS EDMUND RYAN

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. RICHARD E. NEAL

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 28, 2017

  Mr. NEAL. Mr. Speaker, Navy Yeoman 3rd Class Edmund Ryan of 
Wilbraham, Massachusetts was killed when the Japanese sank the USS 
Oklahoma during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. For 75 years, 
Yeoman Ryan was one of the nearly 400 sailors from that vessel whose 
identities were deemed ``non-recoverable.'' But thanks to the 
advancements in DNA testing and the efforts by the Defense POW/MIA 
Accounting Agency, Yeoman Ryan's remains have been finally identified. 
This was possible by matching the mitochondrial DNA to family members 
of the deceased. This achievement gives hope to the family members of 
the 26,000 servicemembers from World War II that possibly they too can 
be identified.
  Next week, Yeoman Ryan will be interred in his final resting place at 
Arlington National Cemetery. On behalf of the First District of 
Massachusetts and the United States, we are eternally grateful for his 
service and sacrifice to his nation. And on this solemn occasion, I 
want to extend my best wishes to his family.

                          ____________________