The Navy Exchange Service Command's (NEXCOM) Uniform Support Center supports the U.S. Navy in a variety of ways, including ensuring a proper burial for some of the nation's war heroes.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) laboratory in Hawaii continues to work to identify the remains of Sailors and Marines who were killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941. At that time, many service members' remains were buried together because they couldn't be identified. However, as technology has improved over the years and family DNA can be used to identify remains, DPAA is now able to return service members back to their loved ones for burial.

Once DPAA identifies a service member, a request is sent from the Office of Deceased Affairs to the Uniform Support Center so the appropriate Navy or Marine Corps uniform can be provided to the family.

The staff at the Uniform Support Center takes great pride in ensuring every detail of the uniform is correct for each individual service member. Over the past 12 months, more than 50 requests have been fulfilled to provide uniforms and/or uniform components for these service members.

Since these service members were killed over 75 years ago, some of the ribbons and medals required, such as the World War I Victory Medal and the Yangtze Service Medal, are no longer readily available. However, the Uniform Support Center staff works closely with its supplier to ensure all the required awards are provided to the family.

The Uniform Support Center takes great pride in providing Navy and Marine Corps uniforms to the nation's heroes who paid the ultimate sacrifice 75 years ago at Pearl Harbor. The staff continues to standby to ensure every war hero receives the appropriate uniform for the burial.

For more information, visit http://www.navy.mil, http://www.facebook.com/usnavy, or http://www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For more news from Navy Exchange Service Command, visit http://www.navy.mil/.