Bangor Honors Pearl Harbor Victim Willard Orr

Remains of Private First Class Willard C. Orr, identified in November 2025, were returned home 85 years after he died in the attack.

Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Military

Simple flat-color editorial illustration of a half-staff flag before a clapboard building on a quiet northern town street, evoking a long-delayed homecoming. — The remains of Pfc. Willard C. Orr, a Bangor soldier killed at Pearl Harbor in 1941, arrived home Wednesday night, 85 years later. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

The remains of Private First Class Willard C. Orr arrived in Bangor, Maine, on Wednesday night, November 4, 2026. Orr, 21, was killed on December 7, 1941, when Japanese forces expanded their attack to Hickam Field.

Why it matters

Orr is the only Bangor resident known to have died at Pearl Harbor, and his return closes a long gap in the city's wartime record. The formal identification in November 2025 allowed the remains to be brought home to his community.

Orr was 21 years old when he died on December 7, 1941, and his remains were returned to Bangor 85 years later. He was formally identified and accounted for in November 2025.

The players

Willard C. Orr

Private First Class Willard C. Orr was a Bangor cook at Hickam Field who was killed in the Pearl Harbor attack and is memorialized on a pedestrian bridge in Downtown Bangor.

Bangor Police Department

The Bangor Police Department is the municipal law enforcement agency of Bangor, Maine, which took part in the escort returning Orr's remains to the city.

Maine State Police

The Maine State Police is the statewide law enforcement agency that led the escort of Orr's remains from the New Hampshire line to the funeral home.

The details

Orr worked as one of the head cooks at Hickam Field when Japanese forces expanded their attack there. State Police led an escort of his remains from the New Hampshire line to Brookings and Smith Funeral Home, joined by Bangor Police.

December 7, 1941: Orr killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
November 2025: Orr formally identified and accounted for.
Wednesday night, November 4, 2026: Escort brings Orr's remains back to Bangor.

Roadmap

The return of Orr's remains reflects the continuing work of accounting for service members lost at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, more than eight decades later. It places an individual Bangor casualty within the broader national effort to bring home the dead from that attack.

Residents of Bangor may see public tributes and the continued memorial on the pedestrian bridge in Downtown Bangor. The escort route from the New Hampshire line brings state and local police activity to the area.

The takeaway

Local memorials keep individual wartime sacrifices visible to the communities they came from. Orr's return shows that accountability for Pearl Harbor casualties continues long after the attack.