Pearl Harbor victim returns to Holyoke for burial in family plot
Every year on the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, Cheryl Quinn thinks of her uncle who died that December day in 1941 and whose fate and whereabouts were unknown until this past year.
Merle Hillman, a 25-yearold Holyoke native who served as a pharmacist’s mate in the US Navy, was identified after his remains lay buried for many decades in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, where many unidentified military personnel’s remains were interred at the time.
More than 2,000 sailors and more than 400 others, including civilians, were killed on Dec. 7, 1941, when a Japanese carrier-based plane made a surprise attack on the unsuspecting US Navy base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Beginning in 2018, remains of many of the Unknowns, as they were called, were exhumed and identified — including Hillman’s — through advances in forensic technology by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
“Our family basically thought that he was gone,” said Quinn, 73, Hillman’s closest living relative, who lives in Holyoke. “We weren’t aware that the remains were put into a cemetery in Hawaii. They had very little information back in 1941.”
About 12 years ago, Quinn received a call from the US Navy asking her for a DNA sample. As time went on, Quinn forgot about the call — until Nov. 1, when she got another call saying his remains had been identified.
“It’s kind of bittersweet,” she said. “We’re so happy this happened and he’s going to come home and get a nice memorial and be buried with my father and mother in the cemetery in Holyoke.”
Hillman was aboard the USS California, one of eight US Navy ships at Pearl Harbor, when the attack occurred at 7:48 a.m.
Quinn’s father had a book about the USS California, which he showed his grandchildren when they asked about their uncle. But her father remained largely quiet about his younger brother.
“It was so emotional for him, he found it very hard to talk about,” Quinn said. “Back then people didn’t talk about things like they do today.”
Quinn said that she and her son, Brendan, 43, spent time at the Holyoke Public Library years ago digging for records on Hillman to learn more about him.
What they discovered was that he graduated from Holyoke High School in 1933 and entered the Navy in 1937. They don’t know what transpired during the years in between.
A few years back, the Navy brought the Quinns a book containing Hillman’s military records, including infirmary records, that gave Quinn and her children a better understanding of what Hillman’s time in the Navy was like.
“We feel like we know him better now,” she said. “I probably know him better than my father did. I have more information about him from when he was in the service.”
The book included photos showing what remained of Hillman’s skeleton, which to Quinn’s surprise, was more intact than she would have expected after so many decades. Hillman had a prosthesis in his mouth which survived over the years, and his skull showed marks of fracture from the torpedo hit.
Quinn said Hillman’s story had an impact on her son, who credits his great-uncle with being the “inspiration” behind his decision to serve in Iraq.
The Quinns hold Hillman close to their hearts, she said, and although they never knew him, they feel grateful for his service and for the information they have been able to learn about him over the years.
Burial of Hillman’s remains with full military honors will take place at 11 a.m. on Jan. 27 at St. Jerome Cemetery in Holyoke.
“He’s going to get the burial he so justly deserves,” she said. “He’s been gone for 82 years, and I wanted him buried in the cemetery with his family. [Now] he’ll be home with his family.”