Sharon Gunselman cried when she learned that the remains of her uncle, U.S. Navy Seaman 1st Class Aaron Lloyd McMurtrey, who died at Pearl Harbor 83 years ago, had finally been identified. She wished that her mother, aunt and grandmother could have been there for the news. “They mourned him their entire lives,” Gunselman said. “They hoped that maybe, somehow, he had gotten amnesia or something, and he would one day walk in the door, but obviously that did not happen.” On Feb. 13, 2025, a group of 15 family and friends gathered at Arlington National Cemetery to say a final goodbye.
McMurtrey, from Durant, Oklahoma, had been serving on the battleship USS California when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. The ship suffered multiple bomb and torpedo hits and slowly sank into the harbor. More than 100 crewmen died in the attack. The remains of those unidentified were interred as unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific until 2018, when personnel from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency began to exhume the remains in hopes of identifying them. Their work eventually identified McMurtrey.
At the funeral service, Navy Chaplain (Lt.) Brent Wagner spoke about McMurtrey’s enlistment in 1940 and his duties onboard the USS California, which included lookout, maintenance and gun crewman. Wagner then explained the importance of McMurtrey’s contributions on that fateful day. “His story serves as a poignant reminder of the immense sacrifices made by those who served during the attack on Pearl Harbor,” he said. “We will remember him and the others who fought valiantly that day.”
Gunselman recalled that her mother, aunt and grandmother told her stories about her uncle who had died several years before she was born. She also spoke about her family’s service to the country. Her father also served in the Navy, while her husband served in the Marine Corps. Both, as well as Gunselman’s mother, are buried at ANC. Gunselman herself works at the Pentagon as an Air Force civilian. “One day I will be buried here,” she added. “So, all of us will be here.”
Gunselman also wanted her uncle buried at ANC because of his sacrifice. “He gave his life for our Navy, for our country,” she said, with tears in her eyes, “and that matters.”
