DES MOINES — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has ordered flags on state property flown at half-staff to honor a fallen sailor from Traer in the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.
U.S. and state flags are to be lowered from sunrise to sunset Friday to coincide with a burial Mass at St. Paul Catholic Church in Traer for William Kvidera.
Kvidera was a 22-year-old carpenter’s mate 3rd class assigned to the USS Oklahoma. The battleship capsized Dec. 7, 1941, after being struck by Japanese torpedoes.
His remains were among those not identified after their recovery and were interred at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.
In 2015, his remains were removed and later identified through DNA, dental analysis and other evidence.