Gov. Jim Justice has issued a proclamation, ordering that all United States and West Virginia flags on all State-owned facilities throughout West Virginia be displayed at half-staff, beginning IMMEDIATELY and continuing until sunset today – Thursday, Aug. 5 – in honor of Navy Patternmaker 1st Class Stanislaw F. Drwall of Thomas, WV; a fallen sailor who has been returned home to be laid to rest.

Aug. 5 marks the day of memorial services celebrating Drwall’s life.

Drwall was on the USS Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft, sustaining multiple torpedo hits and quickly capsizing, resulting in the deaths of 429 crew members, including Drwall. He was 25 years old.

Drwall’s remains were exhumed from a Honolulu cemetery in 2015 and identified using DNA and other analysis on March 25, 2021.