[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 206 (Monday, December 7, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S7236]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO DAYMOND YOUNG

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, after more than seven decades, a 
Kentucky family in Hancock County will finally lay their hero to rest. 
Last year, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, DPAA, identified the 
remains of Navy Fireman 2nd Class Martin Daymond Young. Soon, he will 
be on his way home.
  Stationed aboard the USS Oklahoma, Daymond was killed during the 
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. This Kentuckian, who would 
have turned 100 this year, will be buried beside his twin sister in 
Lewisport next May. Today, on the 79th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor 
attacks, I would like to pay tribute to Daymond for his bravery and 
sacrifice in defense of our Nation.
  In June 1940, 3 months before President Franklin Roosevelt authorized 
the first peacetime draft, Daymond volunteered for the Navy. He joined 
millions of men and women of the ``greatest generation'' who signed up 
to protect our country in uniform. According to Daymond's niece, he was 
thrilled to be stationed in Hawaii.
  On the morning of December 7, 1941, Daymond was aboard the Oklahoma, 
which was moored at Ford Island. As the attack began, Japanese aerial 
torpedoes pummeled the ship. Its port side tore open, forcing the 
27,500-ton battleship to capsize and sink. It took Daymond and 428 of 
his crewmates into the water below.
  The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor killed more than 2,400 Americans 
and launched the United States into the Second World War. Over the next 
4 years, heroes were forged on the battlefield and at home as our 
country defeated the forces of tyranny in defense of the American way 
of life.
  In the following years, the Navy attempted to identify the remains of 
those killed on the Oklahoma. Unfortunately, the vast majority couldn't 
be accounted for and were buried together in 46 plots at the National 
Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, also known as the Punchbowl.
  Then 5 years ago, the Pentagon contacted Daymond's family as they 
exhumed the USS Oklahoma unknowns. The Navy used DNA samples to 
identify Daymond's remains and give his family the opportunity for 
proper burial in Kentucky. By order of our Governor, flags across the 
Bluegrass State will fly at half staff on that day in honor of a true 
American hero.
  Today, over 1,300 Kentucky servicemembers remain unaccounted for by 
the DPAA. We have never forgotten these patriots, and we will continue 
searching to bring them home. I am grateful for the ongoing efforts of 
the DPAA to bring closure to more families like Daymond's so their 
loved ones can receive the tribute they earned.
  On behalf of my Senate colleagues, I would like to send our sincere 
condolences to Daymond's family and express our thanks for his brave 
service to our Nation. We are proud this Kentucky hero is finally 
coming home.
  Mr. President, on Veterans Day, the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer 
published an article about Daymond Young's identification. I ask 
unanimous consent the article be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

         [From the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer, Nov. 11, 2020]

 Coming Home: Remains of WWII Veteran Daymond Young Will Be Buried in 
                          Lewisport Next Year

                           (By Renee Beasley)

       Layman Hawkins and his siblings grew up hearing one uncle's 
     name often.
       But they never had the privilege of meeting Martin Daymond 
     Young because he died in 1941 at the age of 21.
       Hawkins' mom--Young's twin sister--did everything in her 
     power to keep her brother's memory alive as long as she 
     lived.
       At birth, Young and his twin sister shared the same 
     initials: MDY for Mary Daisy Young and Martin Daymond Young.
       Everyone called them Daisy and Daymond.
       If they were still alive, they would be 100 years old now.
       ``(Young) was not a stranger to us,'' said Hawkins, 76, of 
     Lewisport. ``Mom talked about him all the time.''
       Hawkins remembers a military photograph of his uncle always 
     hung in his mom's living room--like a badge of honor.
       ``It's kinda like we knew him, but we didn't know him,'' 
     Hawkins said. ``. . . His memory was with us all the time.''


                              pearl harbor

       According to Navy records, Young, who grew up in the 
     Hancock County village of Dukes, filled out his application 
     to join the U.S. Navy on June 26, 1940. His application was 
     approved on Aug. 14 that year.
       The Navy assigned Young, 21, a Fireman 2nd Class, to the 
     battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, 
     Pearl Harbor, on Dec. 7, 1941.
       During the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor that day, 
     torpedoes pounded the Oklahoma, quickly capsizing it. Young 
     was among 429 crew members who perished aboard the 
     battleship.
       After decades of being one of the Oklahoma's ``unknowns,'' 
     the Navy identified Young's remains last year. He will be 
     laid to rest in Lewisport--beside his twin sister, Daisy 
     Young Hawkins--on May 15, 2021.
       ``He was so excited about going to Hawaii,'' said Joyce 
     Nall of Owensboro.
       Young was her uncle, too. She is Young's oldest living 
     relative and the only one with memories of him.
       ``I was just a little girl when he went into the Navy,'' 
     Nall said. ``I remember him being my big, handsome uncle.''
       After reaching Hawaii aboard the Oklahoma, Young sent Nall 
     a little grass skirt as a gift.
       Nall, 84, has held onto it all these years.


                             the punchbowl

       Between December 1941 and June 1944, Navy personnel 
     recovered the bodies of the Oklahoma's deceased crew. They 
     were interred in the Halawa and Nu'uanu cemeteries.
       In 1947, the crew's remains were moved to the Central 
     Identification Laboratory at Schofield Barracks. Staff there 
     could only confirm the identities of 35 men at that time.
       Later, the Oklahoma unknowns were buried in 46 plots at the 
     National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, known 
     as the Punchbowl, and they were classified as non-
     recoverable.
       In 2015, however, their remains were exhumed again for 
     analysis and possible identification.
       Department of Defense personnel contacted Hawkins about a 
     year later, asking for the addresses of family members so the 
     military could collect DNA samples.
       When Young's remains were identified last year, the family 
     had hoped to conduct his burial on May 11, which would have 
     been his 100th birthday. However, COVID-19 threw a wrench in 
     those plans. The family opted for a May 2021 date instead.
       The military's identification process--even decades after 
     the bombing of Pearl Harbor--impresses Nall.
       ``To me, it's amazing they have gone through this elaborate 
     process,'' she said.


                                 burial

       Gov. Andy Beshear recently sent Young's family a message, 
     saying he would request flags across the commonwealth to fly 
     at half staff on the day Young's remains are buried.
       Also, Rolling Thunder motorcycle club, an advocacy group 
     that seeks accountability for prisoners of war and those 
     missing in action, notified the family that its members will 
     meet the airplane in Owensboro and escort Young's casket to 
     the Lewisport cemetery.
       ``I appreciate the way everyone has treated us,'' Hawkins 
     said. ``To us, this is a big deal.''

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