The remains of a Banquete native who died during Pearl Harbor are coming home to the Coastal Bend.
Clyde Clifton McMeans, who died aboard the USS California during the Dec. 7, 1941, attack that led to the U.S. joining World War II, will be buried with full military honors at the Coastal Bend State Veterans Cemetery at 1 p.m. May 1.
McMeans was born in Karnes City, Texas, on April 30, 1915, to Elvarena and Clarence McMeans. He was one of nine children. His siblings, Lee, Ella, Oda, Rosa, Eddie, Clarence, James and Elvarena, have all died. His living nieces and nephews never met him, but learned about him from their parents’ stories. Several members of the family still live in the Coastal Bend.
“We love him through the eyes and hearts of our parents,” niece Kathy Herrmann said.
According to the stories, McMeans was “smart, handsome and a good dancer,” Herrmann said. His brothers were his best friends and he took care of his sisters. The family lived in Agua Dulce, and then Banquete.
He enlisted on Oct. 1, 1940. After naval recruit training in San Diego, he served on the USS California.
He had been stationed on the USS California for just over a year before the Dec. 7, 1941, attack. About 100 crewmen from the USS California died. The Japanese attack targeted the Pearl Harbor naval base, killing about 2,400 American service members and civilians.
McMeans was 26 when he died.
In 1949, a military board classified the remains of McMeans and other crew members who were unable to be identified as non-recoverable, according to a U.S. Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency news release.
Without DNA analysis, his remains couldn’t be identified. In 2011, the U.S. Navy contacted Herrmann’s father and several other siblings asking for DNA samples to help identify their brother’s remains.
But it was only years later, after the siblings had died, that identification was made in November 2025.
Herrmann would periodically check in, but after repeatedly receiving no news, she stopped calling. This spring, they finally heard back.
Next week, the family expects that McMeans’ remains will arrive back in Texas. They considered a burial in Hawaii or Arlington National Cemetery, but opted instead for the Coastal Bend State Veterans Cemetery.
“We decided that he was a country boy and he’d want to come home,” Herrmann said.
McMeans’ awards and decorations include a Purple Heart Medal, Combat Action Medal, American Defense Service Metal with Fleet Clasp, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Metal with Bronze Star and a World War II Victory Medal.
Two of McMeans’ brothers would go on to serve their country. Oda McMeans served as a medic in World War II. Clarence McMeans, known as Junior, served in the U.S. Navy.
Before the burial at 1 p.m., the family is hosting a funeral at 11 a.m. at River Hills Baptist Church.
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Remains of Banquete Pearl Harbor sailor identified, coming home
Reporting by Olivia Garrett, Corpus Christi Caller Times / Corpus Christi Caller Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
