The memorial service for a Navy sailor from Warren County killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor has been postponed due to COVID-19.

The service for Warren Harding Crim was originally scheduled for this Saturday at Gardens of Memory Cemetery on Manchester Highway. 

However, Gardens of Memory Funeral Home, which is handling local arrangements, said the family and the U.S. Navy have postponed the service. A new date has not been scheduled. The Standard will publicize the new date when it is made available.

Crim was one of 429 men who drowned when the USS Oklahoma sank after numerous torpedo strikes capsized the ship. Crim was 21 years old and was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart, World War II Victory Medal and American Defense Service Medal.

Crim was a Navy Fireman 3rd Class who enlisted July 10, 1940. He was assigned to the USS Oklahoma in 1941.

“I’m proud to call him part of my family,” said Patricia Keel, a cousin. “I felt like it was up to someone in the family who was still living to honor his memory by having him brought home.”

Crim’s remains will be buried in the Veterans of Valor section at Gardens of Memory Cemetery.

Crim wasn’t identified until 2018 due to the large number of men in the ship who couldn’t get out, resulting in their remains deteriorating into bones. DNA testing determined his identification.