Media advisory: Coast Guard to repatriate remains of World War II service member

News Release

U.S. Coast Guard 14th District Hawaii and the Pacific Contact: 14th District Public Affairs Office: (808) 535-3230 After Hours: (808) 265-7748 14th District online newsroom

Media advisory: Coast Guard to repatriate remains of World War II service member

Honolulu — The media is invited to attend the repatriation ceremony of Lt. Thomas Crotty at Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point, scheduled Oct. 31.

Crotty is the last known, recoverable, fallen Coast Guard service member from World War II. His remains were recently identified by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) and will be brought back to Crotty’s hometown of Buffalo, New York, for burial.

During the repatriation ceremony, a Coast Guard Honor Platoon led by Rear Adm. Kevin Lunday, commander, Coast Guard 14th District, will escort Crotty’s remains from the hearse to a HC-130 Hercules airplane and accompany the remains to Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento.

Crotty served aboard the USS Quail in the Philippines during the outbreak of World War II and later aided in the defense of Corregidor. After the Japanese invasion of the Philippines and the fall of Bataan, Crotty was taken prisoner by the Japanese and interned at the Cabanatuan Prisoner of War (POW) Camp where he later died in 1942.

Who: Coast Guard Service Members

What: Repatriation ceremony for Lt. Thomas Crotty

When 11 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 31

Where: Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point

Media are asked to arrive no later than 10 a.m. and will be met at the front gate and escorted. Please RSVP to Coast Guard 14th District Public Affairs by 4 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 29, at (808) 535-3230.

-USCG-