Young sailor, brother returns home

Nobody there knew Orval Tranbarger, a young sailor killed at Pearl Harbor 78 years ago. He would have been 99 years old this year, and all his friends and classmates have passed away.
Yet, everybody there honored him and wanted to pay their respects.
“It was an awesome processional and burial,” says Burl Tranbarger of Gallatin, Orval’s brother. “People lined the roads, standing in their driveways or at crossroads, some saluting, some waving American flags and ‘welcome home’ signs. Traffic pulled over, even on the divided highway. More than 63 Patriot Guard motorcycles riders accompanied the procession.”
The procession carried Orval to his final rest near his hometown of Mountain View on Aug. 5, less than five miles from where he was born.
Orval was born in 1921 and joined the Navy the day after he turned 18. After basic training at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station, U.S. Navy Seaman 1st Class Orval Austin Tranbarger was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma.
On Dec. 7, 1941, the Oklahoma was sunk by several torpedoes during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. A total of 429 crew members of the Oklahoma died.
At first the family decided to let Orval’s remains stay in Hawaii where he was listed as Missing in Action. Then the family learned that his remains had been transferred to a laboratory in Nebraska for identification, using family DNA, with a new advanced technique.
“We decided since he was so close to home, why not bring him back?” Burl says.
And so, they did.
The procession was headed by the police and followed by the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Honor Guard. Starting at Yarber Mortuary in Willow Springs, the procession traveled down Highway 60 to Mountain View, and then to Chapel Hill Cemetery.
The hero’s sendoff was followed by an emotional ceremony. Rear Admiral Robert C. Nowakowski and Rev. John Smith gave the eulogy.
Burl also spoke, saying the crowd gathered was not there to mourn, but rather to pay tribute to the thousands of men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. He reminded everybody that, “the freedom we enjoy has not been free.”
Orval has three other living siblings, William of Bates City, who coordinated the funeral arrangements, Margaret House of Elsberry, and Fay Vance of Wright City.
“The sad part is, none of my siblings were able to attend,” Burl says. “Their health wouldn’t allow them to travel.”
Only Burl made it to the funeral, along with several nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Burl doesn’t remember anything about his big brother. He was only two years old when Orval was killed.
“I only knew him from conversations I overheard and photos of him,” Burl says.
It was an unbearable time for his parents. Not only would they lose Orval at the beginning of World War II, but another son Darrell was killed in Germany, only 23 days before Germany surrendered and brought an end to the war.
“We can’t begin to know my parents’ loss,” Burl says. “I recall a framed banner hung in our home — Gone But Not Forgotten — with their pictures at each end. There was some anger, but mostly just a lot of grief. The amazing thing is that people all over the nation have suffered the same, losing family members who still haven’t been accounted for.”
Burl, who served in the Navy from 1957-1960, during peacetime, adds: “It’s not just about my brother. I have two questions I’d like to ask others. Did Orval and thousands of other men and women die in vain for our nation? What are we doing to make sure they did not?”
Military funeral honors were by Naval Operation Support Center Springfield and Naval Support Activity Mid-South.
Orval’s name, along with those still missing from World War II, are listed on the Courts of the Missing. A rosette has been placed next to his name, as is done with each name of MIA’s to indicate that they have been accounted for.