CHILLICOTHE — Joseph Hoffman was Ross County’s first World War II casualty and will likely be the last to return home.
Hoffman died in the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor while aboard the USS Oklahoma. His remains were recovered during World War II, but could not be identified until 2020, when scientists used anthropological and DNA analysis.
The Navy, family members, veterans and the Chillicothe community came together to honor Hoffman and bring his remains home to be buried with his family this weekend.
Johna Pulver of the Ross County Veterans Service Office began researching Hoffman in 2019 while making a video for the local Joseph Hoffman American Legion Post. He discovered that the Navy was in the process of identifying wreckage from the USS Oklahoma.
Days after Pulver contacted the Navy, the Navy announced that Hoffman had been identified.
“That’s when it got personal to me,” Pulver said. “It’s like he’s my relative.”
Deshannon Beaty has been a scientist with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) since 2018. She visited Hoffman’s remaining family members to answer questions about the process and has been working closely with Hoffman’s case.
The DPAA team used DNA samples from one sailor and matched them with that of a family member to identify remains from the USS Oklahoma. In addition to working in the lab, the DPAA team also meets with family members and works to bring the sailor to his final resting place.
Beaty said it’s been an honor to meet families who worry about bringing their loved ones home. Most of the communities where the sailors have returned have planned large community events similar to Chillicothe to celebrate and honor them.
“It’s really an emotional moment for me to see when they send me the video to know that the people there really care about our shipmates who have been missing for the last 80 years,” Beaty said. “Now they are getting a final resting place.”
Navy casualty director Robert McMahon said the Navy supports the families of fallen sailors by assisting the family with burial coordination and paying for funeral expenses, travel and lodging. the family and other expenses such as the casket, transport and the expenses of the funeral home and the cemetery. The Navy also provides full funeral honors with a rifle salute, burial equipment and taps.
“It’s been 80 years since the attack on Pearl Harbor, but it’s still important to these families because they believe their relative didn’t die or they just didn’t know what happened,” McMahon said. “Being able to recover and identify the remains of Sailors and Marines helps bring closure to these families, but it’s also important for the Navy and Marine Corps to honor those Sailors who truly gave their lives for our country.”
In addition to Beaty, other DPAA scientists who have helped identify Hoffman include Falon Karcher, Patrick Hawkins, Darrell Marshall and Rosendo Lindo.
Back in Chillicothe, Pulver continued to compile extensive research on Hoffman, from where he grew up and went to school to the recitals he attended as a child. No detail was too insignificant to look at.
However, with the discovery of Hoffman’s remains, the goal changed from investigating Hoffman to bringing him home.
Bob Leach, local historian and former history teacher, joined Pulver in his research. The couple began making plans to hold a memorial service for Hoffman and reached out to everyone they could think of to help them plan a three-day memorial weekend.
The hardest person to find was Hoffman’s family member. The Navy passed on their contact information to the family member, but neither Pulver nor Leach heard back for several months. Pulver said she kept a note of the relative’s area code on the back of her phone for months while she waited for the call.
Just when they were losing hope, they were able to connect with a distant relative who was excited to meet their identified great uncle.
John Moomaw had never known he had a family member who died during Pearl Harbor and was shocked to learn from the Navy after identifying Hoffman’s remains. He said it was “quite an honour” to be part of the memorial service.
“My dad is a Vietnam veteran and he was in the Navy as well, so it’s up close and personal to him. To find out that we have a family member who was a World War II veteran is kind of interesting ” said Moomaw. “There is no one else to honor his family, so we should.”
Moomaw will attend the memorial with several members of his family.
Leach and Pulver also enlisted the help of the American Legion Post, Chillicothe Mayor Luke Feeney, the Chillicothe Civic Theater and the Tyler Memorial United Methodist Church.
Art Harrett with the Joseph W. Hoffman American Legion Post 757 and other members of the post helped plan and organize numerous events for the weekend. The publication has honored Hoffman in many ways since it was established in 1949, including donations, celebrations and more in Hoffman’s name. The post is filled with photos of Hoffman, portraits and more.
Leach said this will be a uniquely special experience for post members, as American Legion Post members would not normally be able to attend funerals for their post’s namesake.
Mayor Feeney helped contact a family member by writing a letter and sending it through the Navy. He advocated that Hoffman be brought home to be buried with his family in Greenfield Cemetery.
A Notable Souls Tour will be held at Grandview Cemetery Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. to highlight the 43 service members who died in service during the war and are buried or memorialized at Grandview Cemetery. Sponsored by the Chillicothe Restoration Foundation, the tour will also include information about Hoffman.
John Manasco, president of the Chillicothe Civic Theatre, said actors from the theater will perform performances of 10 of those buried or memorialized at the cemetery.
“It’s an opportunity for us to give back to the community,” Manasco said. “We are grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this event.”
James Wade is the pastor of Hoffman’s former church, Tyler Memorial United Methodist Church. He said the church began working on plans for the memorial as soon as they learned Hoffman was identified.
Hoffman attended the church when it was Tyler Brethren Church before the church mergers. Leach said the sanctuary is almost the same as the last service Hoffman attended.
Leach said Tyler Memorial is still in the same building as when Hoffman attended the church and features the same stained glass windows. They might even have some of the same Bibles that Hoffman would have read.
Leach currently attends Tyler Memorial, so it was easy for him to connect with Wade about plans for the memorial service.
“As the current pastor of Tyler Memorial, I told Bob that I would do whatever was appropriate to celebrate Seaman Hoffman’s return to Ross County and his burial in Greenfield,” Wade said.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. in the church on Sunday, August 21. Wade invites anyone in the community to share in the memorial segment of the church’s memorial service.
Wade said members of his congregation are excited to be a part of honoring Hoffman’s return to join his family in Greenfield.
From Hawaii to Ohio, dozens of people gathered to bring Joseph Hoffman home to his final resting place.
Events programming
On Friday, the Joseph W. Hoffman American Legion Post 757 will host an open house for families from noon to 8 p.m. at 289 Cooks Hill Road. The event will feature food, children’s activities, bounce houses, documentaries and films with a Pearl Harbor theme.
The opening ceremony will take place at 3:30 p.m. Leach will give a speech on Hoffman’s history and the Huntington High School band will perform at 4 p.m. The Greenfield-McClain Corps of Cadets Exercise Presentation will be held at 4:30 p.m., and the Ross County Veterans Flag Burning Ceremony until 6:00 p.m.
A funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Ross County Veterans Memorial Park on Yoctangee Boulevard. The procession will come from Greenfield. The route has not yet been finalized. A motorcade will proceed from Veterans Memorial Park to Greenfield Cemetery for graveside services.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Sunday at Tyler Methodist Church. The church has asked the Navy for support.
From 1 to 5 p.m., a Notable Souls Tour will be held at Grandview Cemetery to highlight the 43 service members who died in service during the war and are buried or memorialized at Grandview Cemetery.
The Chillicothe Civic Theater will offer performances of 10 of those buried or memorialized in the flat, shadowy area in the center of the cemetery. The story of first class musician Joseph Hoffman will also be told.
PTSD offices and groups, family support and suicide prevention will participate in the event.
Megan Becker is a reporter for the Chillicothe Gazette. Call her at 740-349-1106, email her at mbecker@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @BeckerReporting.
