Remains of WWII veteran buried during solemn ceremony after homecoming nearly 80 years in the making
SEASIDE -- For nearly 80 years, the family of Wilbur Archie Mitts has been waiting for the moment they could finally say goodbye.
"It's something I never expected to do," said Diana Ward, his niece. "This was a longtime coming."
Mitts, a U.S. Navy aviation radioman, died while flying over the Pacific during a WWII mission against Japanese forces. His plane was last seen spinning violently before crashing into the water near the island of Palau. Mitts and his crew members were declared killed in action and awarded the Puple Heart.
Ward, his oldest surviving relative said even though she was born three days after he died, her Uncle Wilbur's memory always loomed large.
"We grew up around all of Wilbur's pictures and his belongings," she said.
His family had given up on ever recovering his body. But earlier this year, after submitting DNA tests, his relatives got the call from an organization called Project Recover, telling them they'd finally identified his remains.
"It feels good," said Project Recover's Michelle Abbey. "There's a sense of closure and a sense of comfort and the sense that everything is as it should be."
On Thursday, Highway 101 was lined with first responders from Mitt's hometown of Seaside as they saluted his casket. The procession ended at Mission Memorial Park Cemetery, where Mitts was laid to rest on Monday
Ironically, Mitts spoke about returning home in his last letter to his mother.
"He was able to keep his promise to his mom," Ward said. "He said that one way or another he'd come home and he has."