PHOTOS: Pearl Harbor sailor's remains return home at last

Georgia News

PHOTOS: Pearl Harbor sailor's remains return home at last

After a 79-year wait, the remains of William E. Blanchard, a Georgian killed in the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, came home.

William Eugene Blanchard’s casket is carried to a hearse at Norfolk International Airport on Thursday, June 3, 2021, in Norfolk, Va. The sailor from Tignall, Georgia, died aboard the battleship USS Oklahoma when it was torpedoed in Pearl Harbor in 1941. (Photo: Mike Caudill for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Bill Blanchard (right) looks on as his father’s remains are loaded into the Hearst at Norfolk international airport on June 3, 2021 in Norfolk, Va. After a 79-year wait, the remains of William E. Blanchard, a Georgian killed in the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, were coming home. (Photo: Mike Caudill for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

William Blanchard’s casket is unloaded from the airplane at Norfolk international airport on June 3, 2021 in Norfolk, Va.
Mike Caudill for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Bill Blanchard (center) gets emotional after his father, William Eugene Blanchard’s remains were loaded into the hearst at Norfolk international Airport on June 3, 2021, in Norfolk, Va. (Photo: Mike Caudill for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

The Navy funeral guard walks towards the airplane to unload William Eugene Blanchard’s remains at Norfolk international Airport on June 3, 2021, in Norfolk, Va. After a 79-year wait, the remains of the Georgian killed in the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, were coming home. (Photo: Mike Caudill for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

The Blanchard family watches as William Eugene Blanchard’s casket is unloaded from the airplane at Norfolk international Airport on June 3, 2021, in Norfolk, Va. (Photo: Mike Caudill for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

William Eugene Blanchard’s casket is loaded into a hearse at Norfolk international Airport on June 3, 2021 in Norfolk, Va. After a 79-year wait, the remains of the Georgian killed in the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor were coming home. (Photo: Mike Caudill for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Gene Blanchard's enlistment photo. Blanchard, from Tignall, Georgia, was killed aboard the USS Oklahoma when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941.

The USS Oklahoma was sunk by torpedoes during the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The battleship overturned at its berth. The attack killed 395 enlisted men and 20 officers on the ship, many drowned after being trapped inside.

The Navy funeral guard unloads William Eugene Blanchard’s remains from the airplane at Norfolk International Airport on Thursday, June 3, 2021, in Norfolk, Va. (Photo: Mike Caudill for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

The Blanchard family looks on as the plane arrives with William Blanchard’s remains at Norfolk International Airport on Thursday, June 3, 2021, in Norfolk, Va. (Photo: Mike Caudill for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

The Blanchard family, far right, looks on as the plane arrives with William Blanchard’s remains at Norfolk International Airport on Thursday, June 3, 2021, in Norfolk, Va. (Photo: Mike Caudill for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

The Blanchard family looks on as the plane arrives with William Eugene Blanchard’s remains at Norfolk International Airport on Thursday, June 3, 2021, in Norfolk, Va. The Georgia sailor was killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. (Photo: Mike Caudill for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

The airplane captain shakes the hand of Bill Blanchard at Norfolk International Airport on Thursday, June 3, 2021, in Norfolk, Va. (Photo: Mike Caudill for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

The Blanchard family looks on as the plane arrives with William Eugene Blanchard’s remains at Norfolk International Airport on Thursday, June 3, 2021, in Norfolk, Va. (Photo: Mike Caudill for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

The Blanchard family looks on as the plane arrives with William Eugene Blanchard’s remains at Norfolk International Airport on Thursday, June 3, 2021, in Norfolk, Va. (Photo: Mike Caudill for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Stephanie Blanchard thanks the crew for their work before the plane arrives with William Blanchard’s remains at Norfolk International Airport on Thursday, June 3, 2021, in Norfolk, Va. (Photo: Mike Caudill for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

The airplane carrying William Blanchard’s remains arrives at Norfolk International Airport on Thursday, June 3, 2021, in Norfolk, Va. (Photo: Mike Caudill for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

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Credit: Mike Caudill for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

William Eugene Blanchard’s casket is carried to a hearse at Norfolk International Airport on Thursday, June 3, 2021, in Norfolk, Va. The sailor from Tignall, Georgia, died aboard the battleship USS Oklahoma when it was torpedoed in Pearl Harbor in 1941. (Photo: Mike Caudill for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

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