- The remains of U.S. Navy Fireman 1st Class Walter F. Schleiter, of Massillon, have been formally identified and accounted for.
- Schleiter, who died at 22, was assigned to USS Oklahoma battleship on Dec. 7, 1941, in Pearl Harbor.
The remains of a U.S. service member from Massillon killed during World War II will be buried this spring as part of a formal ceremony.
U.S. Navy Fireman 1st Class Walter F. Schleiter was officially identified and accounted for in May 2018. But the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Accounting Agency — a U.S. Department of Defense office tasked with recovering prisoners of war or personnel missing in action from past conflicts — announced this week that Schleiter is scheduled to be buried with military honors on April 11 in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania.
Gene Hughes, U.S. Navy POW/MIA Office communications manager, said Tuesday that the COVID-19 pandemic and additional time necessary to identify sailors who were at or approaching 100 years old were main factors in five years passing before announcing Schleiter’s identification.