Minnesota Marine’s Remains Return After 82 Years

The remains of Ernest LaVerne Lund, a Minnesota Marine killed in the 1944 West Loch Disaster at Pearl Harbor, have been identified through DNA testing and returned to Minnesota for burial near his parents. Lund had been listed as missing for decades after an explosion aboard a landing ship triggered a chain of blasts and fires while ships were being loaded for the invasion of Saipan; the disaster killed at least 163 service members and injured hundreds. Kayakers found remains in the wreckage in 1985, but they were identified as Lund’s only in 2026 after additional DNA comparisons with his family. His return and burial bring long-awaited recognition and closure to relatives whose family had lost track of him for more than 80 years.