Never Forgotten: Baker City sailor who died at Pearl Harbor to be reburied in Hawaii
By Garrett Christensen on Tuesday, April 30th, 2024 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
BAKER CITY – Over 82 years later, the impact of the December 7th, 1941, attacks against the United States at Pearl Harbor can still be felt in communities across the nation. Among the 2403 servicemen and civilians that perished in the attack, 429 casualties were aboard the U.S.S. Oklahoma, 388 of which could not be identified. In 2015, however, the Department of Defense began a new effort to exhume these unidentified crew members via DNA analysis with a goal, as written by the Navy Personnel Command Public Affairs Office, “of returning identified remains to their families.” These efforts have continued to pay off, with 356 sailors and marines from the U.S.S. Oklahoma having been identified since 2015, including Baker City native Robert Livingston Corn.
Born in Ashland, Oregon, in 1917 but calling Baker City his home, Corn enlisted in the United States Navy on December 15, 1936, in Portland, Oregon. Completing training at Naval Training Station San Diego, Corn was assigned to the U.S.S Oklahoma (BB 37) on August 5th, 1937, as a Seaman 2nd Class. Promoted to Seaman 1st Class on February 16, 1938, corn would train as a Fire Controlman in Washington D.C. (tasked with maintaining and operating the ship’s weapon control systems), eventually reaching the rank of Fire Controlman 1st Class on September 1st, 1941.
Corn would be onboard the U.S.S Oklahoma on December 7, 1941, perishing in the attack. He would ultimately be awarded a Purple Heart Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Good Conduct Medal, American Defense Service Medal (with Fleet Clasp) and Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal for his service.
According to the Defense POW/MIA Account Agency, Corn’s remains were recovered from the U.S.S Oklahoma, but could not be identified at the time, with him originally being buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii, marked unknown. On January 29, 2019, however, Corn’s remains were finally identified.
Now, Fire Controlman 1st Class Robert Livingston Corn, of Baker City Oregon, is slated to be re-buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, on May 8, 2024, 82 years, 5 months, and 1 day after his death.
Information and photos for this article were provided directly by the Navy Personnel Command Public Affairs Office. Additional information was researched from publicly available sources via the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. Elkhorn Media have reached out to Corn’s surviving family for additional information, though they did not wish to comment at this time.
