[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 97 (Friday, June 4, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E609-E610]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     HONORING THE RETURN OF PRIVATE FIRST CLASS JOHN F. MIDDLESWART

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DARRELL ISSA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, June 4, 2021

  Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the homecoming of 
United States Marine Corps Private First Class John Franklin 
Middleswart, who was previously pronounced deceased and unaccounted for 
after the attack on Pearl Harbor. On June 8, 2021, PFC Middleswart will 
be laid to rest in eternal peace at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in 
San Diego, California, witnessed by living relatives.

[[Page E610]]

  Born in Peoria, Illinois on April 10, 1921, John F. Middleswart 
enlisted with the Marine Corps at age 19. After finishing boot camp in 
San Diego, he attended Sea School and was assigned to the Marine 
detachment aboard the USS Oklahoma stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. 
In October 1941, he was promoted to Private First Class.
  Moored on Battleship Row, the vessel was struck by multiple torpedoes 
from Japanese aircraft during the assault on the morning of December 7, 
1941. When the ship capsized, PFC Middleswart and hundreds of his 
fellow crewmen were reported missing and later declared dead. For 
decades, they were memorialized at the Court of the Missing at the 
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii.
  On January 28, 2021, PFC Middleswart was the 300th identification 
made by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) in the USS 
Oklahoma Project. The DPAA works to identify all servicemembers lost 
during World War II and other conflicts. Specifically, the USS Oklahoma 
Project seeks to identify the remaining unaccounted-for crewmen of the 
vessel and is on track to identify 90 percent of the exhumed remains by 
the end of this year.
  The final burial of PFC Middleswart is made possible by the 
dedication and fortitude of the men and women of DPAA and the Armed 
Forces Medical Examiner System team of scientists. DPAA's noble mission 
to identify all fallen servicemembers is not yet complete, but each 
identification is a step closer. And, while we mourn this life that was 
cut short, we rejoice the reunification of the Middleswart family. 
Welcome home, PFC Middleswart. Semper Fidelis.