79 years after Pearl Harbor attack, Offutt lab working to bring families closure

Counting Jones and Tushla, 14 of 23 of the USS Oklahoma missing who came from Nebraska or western Iowa have now been identified. Both will be buried next year.

Louis Tushla of Atkinson, Nebraska.

DEFENSE POW/MIA ACCOUNTING AGENCY

Louis Tushla’s family has set his burial for July 17, 2021, at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Atkinson. He’ll be laid to rest underneath a handsome white headstone that is already there, atop an empty grave.

Next to it is a similar military marker for his brother, 1st Lt. Harold Tushla, a B-24D navigator with the 93rd Bombardment Group who went missing Feb. 16, 1943, with his entire crew of 10 when his aircraft disappeared on a bombing run at Naples, Italy. One family, two Gold Stars.

“(E)veryone in this community for the last two weeks had shared the anxiety that has been borne by Louis’ parents and other relatives,” said an article in the local newspaper, the Atkinson Graphic, dated Dec. 26, 1941.

The following March, his family held a memorial Mass. In 1946, Tushla’s name was added to the local American Legion Post #86.

Tushla’s parents, Peter and Susanna, died decades ago. So have all seven of his siblings. His living relatives declined an interview.

“I think every veteran, local or not, feels the closure for Louis Tushla, his family and the community,” said Ken Stenka, the Holt County Veteran Services officer and a member of Post #86. “This is very exciting to get Navy 1st Class Tushla back to his final resting place and home.”