As a young girl growing up in Catonsville, Carlethea Norris often heard stories about her Uncle Owen. The seventh of 12 siblings, he joined the U.S. Army in May 1941 and never returned home from World War II.
Norris would later learn that 26-year-old Private First-Class Owen Norris, her father’s older brother, served with the Army’s 29th Chemical Decontamination Company, and was among the hundreds of soldiers and sailors who perished in a massive explosion in Honolulu, Hawaii, in May 1944. Reportedly, the incident, called the West Loch Disaster at Pearl Harbor, occurred when servicemen were loading ammunition onto moored ships. Fires from the catastrophic chain of blasts burned for almost 24 hours, delaying the search for survivors and recovery efforts.
“People didn’t do a lot of talking about it,” said Norris, 68, who lives in Windsor Mill. “My father [Donald Norris] was 15 years old when his brother went missing in action.” His remains were never identified until recently.
On July 7, 2026, more than 82 years after his death, Carlethea Norris received a phone call from the U.S. Army with the news she had long been waiting for: Pfc. Owen Norris’ remains had been positively identified. She appreciated that his identification was made possible with a forensic analysis of DNA she provided to the U.S. Army nearly a decade ago.
“I was crying and praising God,” said Norris, who works with the state Department of Human Services. “I never thought this would happen in my lifetime.”
Now, Pfc. Norris is finally coming home. He is believed to be the only returning West Loch soldier from Maryland, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, which is responsible for investigating, recovering and accounting for missing personnel from past conflicts.
The Dignified Transfer
On Thursday, Sept. 24, an American flag-draped casket carrying his remains is scheduled to arrive at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport under military escort from Hawaii. After a private dignified transfer from the airplane to a waiting hearse on the tarmac, Pfc. Norris’ remains will travel in a military escorted procession to Vaughn Green Funeral Services in Randallstown for a hero’s welcome.
Military veterans, VFW members and community members are invited to honor Pfc. Norris throughout the journey, which will end at the funeral home’s location at 8728 Liberty Road. The family will receive friends there from 5 to 7 p.m.
On Saturday, Sept. 26, a brief graveside ceremony with military honors will be held 10 a.m. at West Liberty United Methodist Church, 2000 Sand Hill Road in Marriottsville. Norris will be laid to rest in the church’s cemetery, where his family members, including Carlethea’s father, also a veteran in the Korean War, are buried.
How it All Began
Norris began her quest in 2013 to learn more about a young man whose life and military service had become part of the family’s history.
She turned to her daughter, Carla Patterson, to help uncover the details surrounding her uncle’s death and the possibility of recovering his remains. They dug into census records, genealogy documents and military websites.
Eventually, Patterson came across Russell Pickett, a military veteran and historian, who helped guide the family’s search for answers. He connected them with Doloris Guttman, a Honolulu-based historian, who helped shed light on the West Loch disaster and the ongoing effort to identify the remains of those killed.
Ultimately, he served his country by sacrificing his life. His family never forgot.”
Carlethea Norris, niece
“Every couple of years I’d get a call from the Army,” Norris said. However, most of the updates came from Guttman, who serves as an advocate for West Loch families. Guttman, also president of the African American Diversity and Cultural Center of Hawaii, describes herself as a “vessel” for the cause.
To further her research, Norris, daughters Patterson and Rhonda Cousins, and granddaughter Alyssa Moore traveled to Honolulu five years ago to accompany Guttman to the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, where missing military personnel, including Pfc. Norris, were buried as unknowns. The service members’ names are memorialized on a stone wall.
Carlethea Norris described the experience as “heart-wrenching” to see the inscription “…whose resting place is only known to God” and her uncle’s missing status etched beside his name. She said, “I was so emotional. It was heavy.”
Norris intends to preserve her Uncle Owen’s legacy as one of sacrifice, service and the pursuit of a better life.
“He was a young man who joined the Army to seek a better life and to serve his country,” Norris said. “Ultimately, he served his country by sacrificing his life. His family never forgot. That’s why my granddaughter knows about her great-uncle.”
When the family returns to Honolulu for a visit, Norris said, she looks forward to seeing his status designation changed to accounted for.
