Motor Machinist Mate 1st Class Keith Warren Tipsword, from Moccasin, Illinois,boarded the USS West Virginia as a member of the battleship’s crew on 10 September 1937.  He was on board the West Virginia when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941.  After the attack MM1c Tipsword’s body could not be identified and he was listed as “Missing in Action” (MIA).  While at the Department of Defense in January 2012, Chief Rick Stone prepared reports on all of the West Virginia’s MIA’s using the Random Incident Statistical Correlation (RISC) System which listed MM1c Tipsword as a Most Likely  Match to five West Virginia “Unknowns” buried the Punchbowl Cemetery in Honolulu, Hawaii, including X-134.   On 13 June 2017, after over five years, the Department of Defense finally decided to act on Chief Stone recommendations and began disinterring all of the USS West Virginia Unknowns.  Researchers from the Chief Rick Stone and Family Charitable Foundation, using advanced law enforcement investigative techniques and sophisticated technologies not available at the Department of Defense (DoD), continued to research MM1c Tipsword’s case.  In February 2022, MM1c Tipsword’s family contacted the Foundation for a comprehensive “Family Report” which narrowed the list of Most Likely Matches to only three Punchbowl “Unknowns”, including X-134.  In fact, MM1c Tipsword was the ONLY “Most Likely Match” to X-134. MM1c Tipsword was recovered from a grave site in the Punchbowl Cemetery indicated by Chief Stone’s research in 2012 and his identification by the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory was announced as X-134 on 20 July 2022.

Ship’s Fitter 2nd Class Claude Ralph Garcia from Ventura, California, boarded the USS West Virginia as a member of the battleship’s crew on 21 April 1936.  He was on board the West Virginia when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941.  After the attack SF2c Garcia’s body could not be identified and he was listed as “Missing in Action” (MIA).  While at the Department of Defense in January 2012, Chief Rick Stone prepared reports on all of the West Virginia’s MIA’s using the Random Incident Statistical Correlation (RISC) System which listed SF2c Garcia as a Most Likely  Match to only two West Virginia “Unknowns” buried the Punchbowl Cemetery in Honolulu, Hawaii, including X-162.   On 13 June 2017, after over five years, the Department of Defense finally decided to act on Chief Stone’s recommendations and began disinterring all of the USS West Virginia Unknowns.  Researchers from the Chief Rick Stone and Family Charitable Foundation, using advanced law enforcement investigative techniques and sophisticated technologies not available at the Department of Defense (DoD), continued to research SF2c Garcia’s case and confirmed the list of Most Likely Matches to only two Punchbowl “Unknowns”, including X-162.  SF2c Garcia was recovered from a grave site in the Punchbowl Cemetery indicated by Chief Stone’s research in 2012 and his identification by the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory as X-162 was announced on 20 July 2022.

Welcome home Sailors!  We share the joy of your family in your impending return!  God Bless you and thanks to ALL who never forgot you and your service to our country!