Navy man, 22, recalls honor ceremony for USS Oklahoma
Nathaniel Berry, 22, joined the Navy to become a master electrician.
Rather than spend five years as an apprentice, Berry, said he opted to get his license in the military to gain new experiences and travel. Now, the Prospect native, whose grandfather served in the Navy during World War II, is stationed in Pearl Harbor.
Berry said one of his proudest moments was participating in a repatriation ceremony as a rifleman on a 21-gun salute.
“We reburied (some) of the bodies from the (USS Oklahoma) ship sunk during World War II, (and) identified the bodies,” he said. “I was part of an honor ceremony.”
The USS Oklahoma was one of five ships sunk during Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Within 12 minutes of being struck by torpedoes, the ship was capsized, according to the National World War II museum; 429 people on the USS Oklahoma were killed, many of them being later buried in mass graves.
A day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States declared war on Japan.
According to the World War II museum, some of the men killed aboard the ship were identified after DNA was tested during a process that began in 2015 by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
As a rifleman during the honor ceremony, Berry said he had to remain focused.
“There’s just a lot that goes on,” he said. “It’s very busy.”
Berry works as a construction electrician at a wastewater treatment plant, but his title will soon be changing to third class petty officer.
In Prospect, he was homeschooled and spent much of his time outdoors and working.
“It was interesting,” he said. “There was a lot of horseback riding, quad riding, carpentry, woodworking — it was a lot work.” He described the community in Prospect as small.
“I kind of kept to myself a lot,” he said.
Berry said between his junior year in high school until he was 21 he worked for a remodeling company, then chose to join the Navy. His parents were “excited and nervous“ about it, he said.
A year and a half later, he said the most challenging part of having joined the Navy is being away from family.
Berry has a brother who is three years younger.
He said he speaks with family once or twice a week from Hawaii, and he sees them every six to eight months.
What he misses most about Prospect are the people, he said. He said some of his friends are still in the area.
Berry said he was assigned to the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Hawaii operating out of Pearl Harbor after completing boot camp.
