James Bryce Boring, of Radcliff, was killed during the Pearl Harbor attack on Dec. 7, 1941 while serving aboard the U.S.S. Oklahoma. Thanks to the research work of a Pearl Harbor survivor, Boring’s remains were officially identified and his living relatives were notified earlier this summer.

This is the story of Vinton County’s first World War II casualty and the years-long journey to bring him home.

Boring was born Aug. 28, 1920, the youngest of a handful of siblings. His mother died months after giving birth to him and his father died just a few years later. James and the other younger siblings grew up in the Vinton County Children’s Home north of McArthur. A brother, Theodore Roosevelt Boring, would become one of Vinton County’s most notable residents of the 20th century. Theodore Boring also served in World War II, later became a four-term state legislator and was a longtime postmaster in McArthur.

James Bryce Boring graduated from McArthur High School and was said to be well-known throughout the county. After graduation, he enlisted in the Navy. Boring trained in Chicago and elsewhere before being assigned to the battleship U.S.S. Oklahoma as a firefighter, second class.

When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, many aboard the Oklahoma were able to jump ship and swim to safety. Boring and hundreds of others were stuck down below and presumably drowned when the ship eventually capsized.

A few weeks later, Boring’s family received a telegram from the U.S. Navy stating he was “missing in Pacific Action.” The local newspapers reported him as the first Vinton County casualty in World War II. There would be 51 others from Vinton County killed in the war.

Boring’s oldest living relative is Fran Casto, a niece living in West Virginia. She and her husband, William, received a phone call in May 2016 with news that Boring’s remains may have been identified.

When the Oklahoma sank, it stayed underwater for several years. A few years later when the ship was finally raised, the Castos learned, Boring’s remains were buried and marked as “unknown” in an Oahu cemetery.

The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific was constructed and dedicated in 1949. All the existing remains were exhumed and reinterred in the new cemetery.

As it turns out, though, Boring’s remains had been identified and recorded by the federal government all along. Reporting from the time indicates the family believed his remains would return home with no trouble. A McArthur Democrat-Enquirer story from February 1947 reported the Boring family awaited application forms from the U.S. government to request his body be returned to Vinton County.

That never happened, thanks to shoddy record-keeping. Boring and 26 other service members that had been identified were instead mistakenly buried in the National Memorial Cemetery in a series of mass, unmarked graves.

Ray Emory is a World War II veteran and a historian for the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. He discovered the mistake surrounding these 27 service members back in 2001. After he notified officials in Hawaii, the government began collecting DNA from descendants to formally identify those buried. Fran Casto and another niece, Dorothy Gillogly Frazier, submitted blood samples in 2003.

Many of the 27 service members have been identified over the years. Finally in May 2016, the Castos got the call.

Naval officers recently visited the Castos with the official news: the DNA analysis showed the remains conclusively belonged to James Bryce Boring. The remains are stored in Hawaii and will be placed in a casket to be shipped to southeast Ohio.

As the oldest-living relative, Fran Casto was designated the “Person Authorized to Direct Disposition,” meaning she and William were chosen to decide what to do with his remains. Boring’s existing gravestone is in Bowen Cemetery near Arbaugh; the Castos chose to bury the remains at this grave site.

A ceremony will be held Saturday, Aug. 6 at 1 p.m. at Bowen Cemetery. The cemetery is accessibly via Vales Mill Road off Route 32 in Vinton Twp. Representatives from the U.S. Navy will be on hand to conduct a full military service, complete with a flag folding and gun salute. The public is invited to attend.

Boring was previously honored by the Vinton County Historical and Genealogical Society as part of an annual memorial service tradition. The Society intends to honor Boring at the upcoming ceremony as well.

Vinton County Veterans Director Tim Reid called the developments “very interesting and positive.” He said stories like this sometimes pop up elsewhere, but is likely a first for Vinton County.

On its website, the Defense POW/MIA Account Agency (DPAA) has officially confirmed Boring’s identification. These ID’s continue to come in fairly often, as Boring is among 31 service members identified since the beginning of May. Ten of those 31 are among those killed on the Oklahoma.