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San Marino Native Finally Laid to Rest

After nearly 78 years, descendants of John Albert Karli can finally take respite in the knowledge that the former United States Navy First Class Seaman is coming home. Karli was until recently buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii among the other “unknown” servicemen who lost their lives aboard the USS Oklahoma on December 7, 1941.

And on Wednesday, May 1—fulfilling a lifelong wish that their son would return home— Seaman First Class John Albert Karli was laid to rest with his parents, Hildur and Albert Karli, when a graveside Military Honors Ceremony was held at Mountain View Cemetery in Altadena.

Karli’s remains were recently identified through the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System. In February 2012, two family members submitted DNA samples to a reference database as it had been determined that advances in forensic science and genealogical help from families—DNA testing—could make identifications possible.

John was born on June 25, 1922, the fifth child and only son of immigrant parents. He had four older sisters, twins Mary and Ruth, along with Alberta and Elsie. His mother, Hildur Rudin, emigrated as an infant with her parents, from Sweden in 1884. His father, Albert Karli emigrated in 1901, at age 22 from Switzerland. Both became naturalized citizens of the United States in 1928, according to surviving relatives.

Hildur and Albert met on a beach, fell in love and were married in December 1915. Their four daughters were born in La Jolla, between 1916 and 1920.

In 1921, a new job opportunity found the family moving to what was then known as the Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino. John was born on the estate in 1922. His father worked in the greenhouses and gardens tending the plant collections of railroad magnate Henry E. Huntington and his wife Arabella. The Karli family lived in the employee cottages on the estate from 1921 until 1930.

Other residents of those same bungalows include Armin Thurnher, who became the first superintendent of Lacy Park and for whom the Thurnher Home is named.

“I can only assume that John’s father, whom worked in horticulture like my grandfather Armin did at the Huntington, must have been close friends while living on the Huntington Estate,” Jeffrey Thurnher told The Tribune. “Both these men lost their sons.”

Erwin William Thurnher, Armin’s son and the man who would have been Jeffrey’s uncle, also perished in WWII.

John was a lifelong resident of the San Marino and Pasadena area. He attended school in San Marino from kindergarten through the third grade. After the family moved to Pasadena in 1930, he attended McKinley school through the 8th grade, eventually graduating from Muir High School in June 1940.

A talented baseball player, John was the catcher and co-captain of the Mustangs’ varsity squad and was also one of six high school boys who played on the Pasadena Junior College baseball team.

The very day after his 18th birthday, John went to the Naval Recruiting Station in Los Angeles, filling out his enlistment papers with the US Navy as his career choice and signing up for six years of service. Things were put on hold when he was informed that since he was not yet 21 years old, he would need approval and a signature from his father as well as his birth certificate. He returned the next day with his father—and the birth certificate—to complete the enlistment process.

On July 12, 1940 Apprentice Seaman John Albert Karli reported to the Naval Training Station in San Diego, where he successfully completed his training on September 19, 1940. He was then transferred to the Naval Air Station in San Pedro before further transfer to the USS Oklahoma, a Nevada-class battleship.

He reported for duty aboard the USS Oklahoma on October 5, 1940, and advanced in rank to Seaman Second Class by mid-November. In June 1941, John advanced to the rank of Seaman First Class.

The USS Oklahoma arrived in Honolulu on December 6, 1940—one year and one day prior to the fateful Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. On December 7, 1941, the USS Oklahoma sustained numerous torpedo hits. The ship quickly capsized, and 429 Sailors and Marines lost their lives.

His last letter home was written to his parents on the 1941 Thanksgiving Day menu from the USS Oklahoma.

On December 20, 1941, a telegram arrived at the Karli residence, informing them that their son, John Albert Karli, Seaman First Class, US Navy, was missing in the performance of his duty and in the service of his country.

In mid-February, a second telegram arrived, telling the family that “after exhaustive search it has been found impossible to locate your son, John Albert Karli, Seaman First Class, US Navy and he has therefore been officially declared to have lost his life in the service of his country.”

He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart in December 1943 and later received the World War II Victory Medal and the American Defense Service Medal.

John Albert Karli is honored at the Courts of the Missing in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific—the Punchbowl—and the USS Oklahoma Memorial on Ford Island in Honolulu.

He is survived by a nephew, David Snyder

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