DD214 or award/medal list for KIAs?

The form that serves is place of the DD Form 214 is the DD Form 1300 (Report of Casualty) but that form won't help you with his awards. I don't think the National Archives could work a request in time for the service and they will probably require the next of kin to submit the request. Unless you can find someone that knew him and they could provide some first hand knowledge of his service, I would highlight his hero service as part of the larger cause for the "greatest generation" rather than trying to speak to his specific service acts.

This Funeral Director strikes me as inexperienced. He should gulp his pride and call a colleague who has interned a KIA/MIA. He was clearly "discharged" I doubt he's been getting paid all this time. Doesn't make him any less deceased. Most MIAs are declared dead, the death certificate would have cause of death incident to combat. WWII families would get a telegram notifying them the SM was missing and perhaps a followup telegram declaring them MIA and presumed dead.

Military honors and burial are a VA benefit. Here are the list of alternate records allowable. Among them are the 1300 report of Casualty that someone else mentioned. https://www.cem.va.gov/CEM/hmm/discharge_documents.asp

Recommendations/Thoughts:
- was he just returned by the JTF Full Accounting unit in Hawaii? They had to have had some paper work to transfer custody of the remains. It's not like UPS where they dump the box on the porch and ring the bell.
- did the Navy assign a Casualty Assistance Officer? They should be working this through their version of the CAOC. The CAO should have a package of documents.
- call the Navy Bureau of Personnel, tell them the story and see if they can hustle something up.
- Request records from the NPRC. Caution. This moves like a glacier. The 1973 fire may have impacted these records as well. The Army is the most impacted. Navy section might have something.
- call United States Navy Mortuary Affairs office toll-free at [login to see] .
- call the VA Burial Eligibility folks. https://www.cem.va.gov/cem/burial_benefits/eligible.asp

I'm surprised the remains were returned without any documents nor a package of decorations. Just given the era he'd have at a minimum: campaign medals (Europe/Africa, Asiatic/Pacific, and/or the American Campaign Medal), WWII Victory Medal. He was a prisoner, a POW Medal. Good conduct. Any other decorations he may have been awarded for service or valor. I'd defer to a Navy expert to talk badges, ranks and rates. Can the family fill in any blanks? Ships and dates are very helpful, because the. You can link the ship to a specific campaign to piece together campaign participation.

CH (COL) (Join to see), your best source for that information will be The National Archives, or the service component:

https://www.archives.gov/personnel-records-center/awards-and-decorations