Flags ordered lowered to honor Kentucky sailor

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WTVQ) – Flags at all state office buildings will be lowered to half-staff on Saturday in honor of a World War II sailor.

U.S. Navy Fireman 1st Class Samuel W. Crowder, of Louisville, was aboard the USS Oklahoma on December 7, 1941, during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

He was 35 when he, along with 429 crewmen, were killed when that battleship was torpedoed and capsized.

Crowder’s remains were recently identified after the U.S. Department of Defense exhumed unidentified remains from the USS Oklahoma that were laid to rest in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.

Crowders family was notified of his identification in late August 2017.

Funeral services with full military honors for Crowder will be held at Saturday, December 9 at 1 p.m. at Resthaven Funeral Home in Louisville, with burial to follow at Resthaven Memorial Park. Visitation will be from 5 – 8 p.m. on December 8 and 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. on December 9 at the funeral home.