By BARBARA GREEN
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March 14 was proclaimed as Bethel Walters Day in Bowie honoring the sacrifice of this Naval seaman who was killed on the USS West Virginia during the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
The remains of the Fireman 1st Class sailor have remained unidentified and interred in a Hawaii national cemetery until two years ago when the work to identify those remains from the West Virginia began. The task force under the direction of the Department of Defense undertook the task of identifying all the unknowns from Pearl Harbor about 12 years ago. Late last year, a Forestburg sailor killed on the USS Oklahoma, James C. Solomon was identified and returned home for burial.
The proclamation proclaiming Walters’ Day was presented by Bowie Mayor Bill Miller at Monday night’s city council meeting. Cheryl Walters, wife of Patrick, nephew of Bethel, accepted the proclamation and read a history of his life.

Read the full story in the mid-week Bowie News.