NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Memorial Day pays tribute to men and women who died while serving in the armed forces. Hundreds of Tennesseans remain listed as missing in action – most from World War II.

One of WW2’s most tragic stories involved the U.S.S. Indianapolis, a cruiser sunk by a Japanese submarine during the closing months of the war.

Only 316 of the ship’s 1,200-person crew survived.

Among those still listed as missing in action:

• Seaman Second Class Donald Dycus of Davidson County.
• JP Atkinson of Centerville, 20 years old at the time.
• Seaman Second Class George Jones of Grainger County.
• Seaman Second Class Glenn Miller of the Knoxville area

The war began for the U.S. after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Several Tennesseans remain listed as missing in action from the “date which will live in infamy.”

Among them: was John Winter Martin. The Memphis native was a fireman aboard the Battleship California. There is also James Milton Robertson from Morristown. He was a machinist mate about the U.S.S. Arizona. It is now a memorial in Honolulu and the resting place of more than 1,100 sailors and marines.