KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A local family received the answer to a decades long question.
“We heard a rumor that he and a buddy made it to shore, but nothing ever came of that," Jane Perkins said.
Arriving at Kansas City International Airport Tuesday, were the remains of Wilbur Francis Newton, a United States Navy veteran who died in 1941 at Pearl Harbor.
“We weren’t actively pursuing this, I mean, I thank God and the heavens that there were people who were because we’re able now to find some closure and find some answers," Perkins said.
Perkins is the second cousin of Newton. Earlier this year, she said Newton's remains were identified by DNA testing.
His remains have been interred in Hawaii since 1941.
“This is coming together after six or seven months, and it’s kind of bittersweet, I can’t believe it’s happening," Robin Deeds, also a second cousin of Newton, said.
Digging into their family history, a plot in Mound City, Missouri, with Newton's name on it was discovered next to his parents, who died a few years after him.
“When we found that marker, we knew, we knew that was the place to bring him home to," Perkins said.
Now after years of questions, this veteran will be laid to rest surrounded by family.
“After 80 years, this is the first time he's coming back home," Deeds said.
