The extraordinary aerial attack that made Pearl Harbor a focal
point for one of the largest conflcits the world has ever known, is
still giving up its dead. A sailor missing in action from the
attack on Pearl Harbor has been identified and returned to his
family for burial.
He is Fireman Second Class Payton L. Vanderpool, Jr., of Cowgill,
Missouri.
Vanderpool was aboard the USS Pennsylvania in dry dock at Pearl
Harbor when the December 7, 1941 attack began. The ship was hit by
a Japanese bomb that penetrated the main deck and detonated below
deck. It was further damaged when a nearby destroyer, the USS
Downes, exploded. More than 50 sailors and marines died on the USS
Pennsylvania. Vanderpool was among six still missing after the
attack.