Originally published at: COMING HOME: Remains of 22 US Soldiers Killed in Brutal WWII Battle Return to USA | Sean Hannity
The remains of more than 20 American soldiers killed in a brutal battle during World War 2 returned home Friday; ending decades of uncertainly for hundreds of family members across the country.
“An Air Force plane carrying the remains of 22 who died during the Battle of Tarawa in 1943 – which took place on and around the remote island of Betio in the Pacific – landed Wednesday at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii. The caskets containing the remains, which were draped in American flags, were then carried off the aircraft by Marines as part of a ceremony,” reports Fox News.
“We welcome home more than 20 American servicemen still unaccounted for from the battle of Tarawa during World War II,” Acting Defense Secretary Richard V. Spencer said. “We do not forget those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, and it is our duty and obligation to return our missing home to their families and the nation.”
“Forensic archaeologists from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) are now working to identify the remains and notify the next of kin, the Defense Department says. They are believed to belong to members of the 6th Marine Regiment who died during the last day of the 76-hour battle, the Associated Press reports,” adds Fox.
The human remains were discovered last March by non-profit organization History Flight; a group that has repatriated hundreds of deceased soldiers since 2015.
Read the full report at Fox News.
