More than 80 years after his death in the attack on Pearl Harbor, Effingham County native Keith Tipsword is coming home.
Tipsword was a 27-year-old Navy Machinist’s Mate 1st Class aboard the USS West Virginia. during the attack on Pearl Harbor. 106 crewmen aboard the West Virginia were killed, including Tipsword.
Tipsword’s remains were never identified until this summer. The confirmation that his remains had been positively identified came in July by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency several years after his sisters Dalyne Sapp of Effingham and Betty Fae Yocum of Greenup were asked to submit DNA samples in case a match of remains could be made.
Yocum has since died, leaving Sapp as the last surviving sibling of the seven Tipsword children.
MMc1 Keith Tipsword will arrive at St Louis Lambert Airport on Thursday, November 10, 2022, at 11:58 a.m. on American Airlines flight #1362 and will make his way back to Effingham to Johnson Funeral Home at 1110 North 4th Street in Effingham.
The procession will exit I-70 eastbound at Effingham exit 160 and continue down Evergreen Ave, eventually turning North onto 4th Street to the funeral home.
Funeral Services will be held Tuesday, November 15, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. at Johnson Funeral Home, Effingham, with visitation prior to service from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Burial will be in Moccasin Cemetery in rural Beecher City.
The procession route from the funeral home to the cemetery on 11/15 will be: Starting at Johnson Funeral Home, South on 4th Street, West on Evergreen Avenue, South on Keller Drive, then eventually continuing into Route 40 West. Take Route 40 West to Altamont, IL, Turning North onto Main Street (Stop Sign in Altamont), Continue North on Main Street until 1600th Street (Stop Sign) turn East on 1600th Street, and go approximately 1 mile until reaching Moccasin Cemetery on the Right (North side of the road).
