Remains of Muir Graduate At Rest in Pasadena, Victim of Dec. 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor Attack

December 7, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, is a day that the one Pasadena family will never forget. It is the day U.S. Navy Seaman First Class John Albert Karli was killed.

The local serviceman who left for military service and was never seen again by his loved ones is once again close to his family after his remains were finally returned home to Pasadena and buried, with honors, in May 2019.

Karli graduated from John Muir High School in 1940. He was a baseball standout at Muir and later at Pasadena Community College.

Karli was killed aboard the USS Oklahoma during the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese military on Dec. 7, 1941.  Several torpedoes from torpedo-bomber airplanes hit the Oklahoma’s hull and the ship capsized. A total of 429 crew died.

Almost eight decades after his death in combat, Karli’s remains were finally interred at Mountain View Cemetery in Altadena.

“Anyone who knows the family can understand they’re feeling better knowing he’s resting with his parents and he’s with his family,” said Mountain View Funeral Director Denny Dermody said at the time Karli’s remains came back to Pasadena. “It’s been a long journey but he’s home.”

Karli was the child of Swiss and Swedish immigrants, and he was born on the Henry E. Huntington’s estate in San Marino. It’s where his father worked as a gardener.

When the family later moved to Pasadena, Karli attended Muir High School, from which he graduated in 1940. After high school, Karli went to San Diego to report to the Navy and he was stationed aboard the ill-fated Oklahoma. The ship suffered the second-highest number of deaths in the attack, according to reports.

It took 78 years to retrieve Karli’s remains, which were identified only recently through the use of DNA samples. Karli’s family members had submitted samples and with advancements in the field, scientists could make the connection. Karli was given a military welcome home May 2, 2019.

It is an appropriate home for a serviceman, Dormody said.

“Every day is remembrance day with all of the veterans who rest here,” Dormody said.

Mountain View is the resting place of more than 700 Union soldiers and 72 Confederate soldiers from the Civil War, as well as Vietnam soldiers. In addition, there are Spanish-American War Veterans, Korean War and World War I and World War II veterans at Mountain View.

So Karli is not alone as far as military people laid to rest at the cemetery.

“Imagine that this young man went off to serve his country, his parents had died in the interim and now he is buried beside his parents here,” Dormody said. “It was probably very tough for the family. But they have closure now. Our purpose has been to help heal their broken hearts.”

This article was republished from Dec. 7, 2022