SEASIDE - The remains of a World War II sailor returned home to the Bay Area Thursday nearly 79 years after he was killed in action.
The Navy veteran died while flying over the Pacific during a mission against Japanese forces. His remains were finally found in 2019.
Wilbur Archie Mitts was part of a three-member aircrew. Their the plane was last seen spinning violently before crashing into the water a few hundred feet from Malakal Island. One year later, Mitts was declared killed in action and posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.
In 2019, an organization called Project Recover finally found the remains of the plane just off Malakal Island. On Thursday, his body arrived at San Jose's Mineta Airport.
From there, it was driven down Highway 101 to his hometown of Seaside, just north of Monterey. The organization Honoring Our Fallen asked people to line the route with flags to honor Mitts.
They held a repatriation ceremony to officially transfer the remains. Members of Mitts's family were there to receive him, including his niece.
"I just wish that it could have had a happier ending. But I'm just so so grateful that today he is back home with his family," she said.
She was born three days after her uncle went missing in action. Mitts will be buried on September 11 in Seaside at the Mission Memorial Park Cemetery.
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