Flags ordered to half-staff Saturday to honor Independence man killed in WWII

DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) - Gov. Reynolds ordered all flags across the state to be flown at half-staff on Saturday in honor of an Iowan killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II.

Navy Seaman 1st Class David F. Tidball, of Independence, was 20-years-old when he was killed, along with 428 other crewmen, aboard the USS Oklahoma on Dec. 7, 1941.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPPA) announced last month that Tidball’s remains were identified as part of an effort to identify the unknown remains from that day.

Tidball will be buried on Saturday in his hometown of Independence, and a rosette will be placed next to his name on the Walls of the Missing at the Punchbowl to indicate he has been accounted for.

The state has also ordered flags flown at half-staff on Friday for Navy Storekeeper 3rd Class Harry E. Nichols.

Nichols, a Sioux City-native, was also identified recently. A burial is set for Friday in Sioux City.

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