On Saturday, Seaman First Class Billy Turner became the first veteran to be buried in the new Oklahoma State Veterans Cemetery in Ardmore, marking the end of an 80-year journey.

Turner joined the navy at age 20 and was one of the 429 soldiers killed aboard the USS Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor.

Last year, his nephew, Bill Crowell, tested the appropriate DNA for his body, which led to his burial in his hometown.

Turner's nephew, as well as community people, family friends, and various veterans groups, were in attendance.

"It's been much more than I could have imagined," Crowell added.

According to a special dedication held before the funeral, Turner would not be the first veteran buried in the new cemetery.

"We chose to name the cemetery after Seaman First Class Turner because he was the first fatality from Carter County on a momentous day in World War Two before the United States had even entered World War Two," Lane said.

Crowell remarked, "I didn't even know it until they revealed it this morning. They hid it from me." "I had no idea... it's quite moving."

As the cemetery's development is completed, Turner will be joined by more veterans. It has the potential to accommodate veterans from around the country for the next ten years.