Photo Credit: Naval History and Heritage Command/ West Loch Disaster USS LST-39
(MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.) – WWII US Marine Private Ernest Laverne Lund finally returned home. Members of Lund’s family were present as Lund’s remains arrived at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport early on October 15.
Born in Goodhue County in 1910, Lund worked hard on farms until he enlisted in the Marines in 1943. Lund had been listed as missing in action (MIA) after the West Loch Disaster at Pearl Harbor on May 21, 1944.
Recently, DNA provided by his family helped scientists confirm that remains found in a partially submerged ship at Pearl Harbor were Lund’s.
Photo Credit: Dee Lund / Ernest Lund’s military portrait
The West Loch Disaster remains one of the most fatal non-combat-related military disasters in US history, killing 2,000+ Americans and leaving 1,200 wounded.
Of those killed, 163 were service members; an additional 396 soldiers were wounded. Private Lund worked on LST-353, one of the ships involved in the disaster. Several ships crowded the Harbor to receive supplies and ammunition for a planned attack on Saipan.
Authorities never identified the cause of the unexpected explosion, but the damage spread through the fleet. Due to the proximity of the ships, fires spread, causing subsequent explosions that sank 34 ships and damaged another six.
Lund’s remains were discovered by kayakers exploring the Harbor in 1985, but at the time, DNA testing was in its infancy, and identification wasn’t possible.
Remaining family members intend to hold a procession from the Twin Cities to Webster, Wisconsin, before finally laying Lund’s remains to rest in Markville, Minnesota, on October 17.
To add to or correct any information in this report, please contact me at kristin.h@lead4earth.org.
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