The U.S. military plans to exhume the remains of 88 sailors and Marines killed aboard the USS Arizona during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, officials announced. The service members were previously buried as unknowns in a Honolulu cemetery.

The USS Arizona was bombed during the December 7, 1941 attack and sank within nine minutes of being struck. The ship's sinking resulted in 1,177 deaths, representing nearly half of all servicemen killed during the Pearl Harbor attack.

The exhumation effort aims to identify the remains using modern forensic techniques and DNA analysis. This initiative is part of ongoing efforts by the military to account for service members killed in action and provide closure to families.

The Pearl Harbor attack marked the United States' entry into World War II. The USS Arizona remains submerged at Pearl Harbor and serves as a memorial to those who died in the attack. The ship's wreckage contains the remains of more than 900 crew members who were never recovered.

The identification process for the 88 remains is expected to take considerable time as forensic experts work to match DNA samples with surviving family members and historical records.