WASHINGTON, DC – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced Thursday, that Navy Storekeeper 3rd Class, 21-year-old Harry E. Nichols, of Sioux City, Iowa, who died during an attack on Pearl Habor in World War II, was accounted for May 30, 2019. On Dec. 7, 1941, Nichols was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including Nichols. From December 1941 to June 1944, Navy personnel recovered the remains of the deceased crew, which were subsequently interred in the Halawa and Nu’uanu Cemeteries.

In September 1947, tasked with recovering and identifying fallen U.S. personnel in the Pacific Theater, members of the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) disinterred the remains of U.S. casualties from the two cemeteries and transferred them to the Central Identification Laboratory at Schofield Barracks. The laboratory staff was only able to confirm the identifications of 35 men from the USS Oklahoma at that time. The AGRS subsequently buried the unidentified remains in 46 plots at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (NMCP), known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. In October 1949, a military board classified those who could not be identified as non-recoverable, including Nichols.

USS Oklahoma Storekeeper 3rd Class, Harry E. Nichols.

Between June and November 2015, DPAA personnel exhumed the USS Oklahoma Unknowns from the Punchbowl for analysis. To identify Nichols’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used Y chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.

Nichols’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl, along with the others who are missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for. Nichols will be buried May 13, 2022, in his hometown, more than 80-years after his death.

(Chicago, IL) – A package being shipped to Iowa from the Netherlands, was found to have two human skills inside. The package was intercepted March 29th, after x-rays showed anomalies inside. U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agriculture Specialists (CBPAS) at the International Mail Facility (IMF) at O’Hare International Airport inspected the parcel and found two skulls. Authorities say it was the first of three shipments coming from the same sender (six skulls total). It’s not clear what the skulls were intended for.

Each package had two skulls a piece for a total of six. The skulls were referred to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for further disposition. Officials say to-date, CBPAS have intercepted 1,667 agriculture shipments containing prohibited items to include live moss bathmats, live snails, and human skulls. The most common items CBPAS have seized are pork and beef sausages, plants, plant materials, seeds for planting, and live snails. These shipments may spike during the holidays and during certain seasons.

(Creston, Iowa) – Officials with the Creston Police Department report two arrests occurred Thursday. Authorities say 21-year-old Montell Mario Rivers, of Creston, was arrested at around 2:30-p.m., on two counts Violation of Probation. He was being held in the Union County Jail on a $4,000 cash-only bond. And, at around 7:30-p.m., Thursday, 43-year-old Dennis Gerald Tyler, of Creston, was arrested for Public Intoxication/1st offense, and Driving While Suspended. Bond was set at $600.

Red Oak, Iowa – The Iowa Hospital Association has awarded the Montgomery County Memorial Hospital + Clinics (MCMH) Board of Trustees the prestigious three-star award for having 100% of trustees certified in their Hospital Board Certification Program. This is the highest honor given to a board certified in the program. The IHA Hospital Board Certification Program is designed to promote governance best practices and encourage the coordination of care and best use of resources. The program requires new and returning trustees to complete a certification form and 12 hours of continuing board education over a period of two years.

(L-R): Top row: Jill Bergstrom, James Norris and Ann Carder; Bottom Row: Jim Robinson, Kevin Cabbage, Lorin Petersen and Roger Ehmke (Photo Courtesy Michelle Zanders, MCMH Community Relations)

MCMH CEO Ron Kloewer says “This is excellent news. The certification program is a big time commitment and shows true dedication to their office.” Trustees who participate in the program demonstrate to community members that they understand and embrace the need for governance accountability, govern according to standards of excellence, are committed to coordination of resources in our community, embrace community accountability and transparency, and utilize quality and patient safety performance data to identify opportunities for improvement.

The MCMH Board of Trustees include: Kevin Cabbage, Chairman; Lorin Petersen, Vice Chairman; Jim Robinson, Treasurer; Roger Ehmke, Secretary; Jill Bergstrom, Trustee; Ann Carder, Trustee; and James Norris, Trustee. The Board will be honored at the IHA Governance Forum in Des Moines on April 22nd.