Scientists confirmed on June 11, 2025, that one of 12 sets of remains buried as unknowns in Honolulu belonged to Cpl. Lester H. Libolt, a 21-year-old Army airman killed at Hickam Field on Dec. 7, 1941, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
He is now coming home to Nebraska. WOWT reported that Libolt will be buried with full military honors at 1 p.m. on Nov. 13 at Fort McPherson National Cemetery near Maxwell, beside his younger brother, Clarence, who also died during World War II. The answer reached the family 85 years after the attack, and it came through the family of his twin sister.
A Farm Boy From South Dakota Who Enlisted at 19
Libolt was born March 11, 1920, in Gregory, South Dakota, and spent his early years on the family farm near Carlock in Gregory County. His mother died when he was 12, and the family moved to Nebraska, settling near Burton and Newport.
He enlisted in the U.S. Army in September 1939 and was assigned to the 11th Bombardment Group at Hickam Field on Oahu. His siblings were Leona, his twin, along with Clarence and Jean. Farm households of that era ran on routines that have mostly vanished, a world pictured in this collection of forgotten household items from the past, and the week of his burial also includes Veterans Day, when offers beyond restaurants put the spotlight on people who served…