BLACK HILLS NATIONAL CEMETERY, S.D. — A veteran from South Dakota who was killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor has returned home.
Navy Electricians Mate Second Class Leaman R. Dill was just 25 years old when he was killed aboard the U.S.S. Oklahoma.
Dill had been buried in Hawaii following the attack. More than 2,000 service members died during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and many of them were entombed in the sunken ships. Dill was one of those recently identified thanks to D.N.A. technology.
During a special ceremony Monday, Dill’s remains were interred at Black Hills National Cemetery.
Two surviving family members, Marilynn Axt, Dill’s niece; and David Dill, his nephew; never knew their uncle but had the opportunity to say their final goodbye at yesterday’s ceremony.
Dill was from Bancroft, South Dakota and joined the service before graduating from high school.
