SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - The remains of a Marine killed in Pearl Harbor were flown to San Diego Tuesday
John Middleswart was 19 years old when he died serving on the USS Oklahoma during the attack on Pearl Harbor. His remains couldn't be identified until recently.
Middleswart's family members were there as his coffin arrived.
"First he was just missing, then after two years they declared him dead," said Edward Brown, Middleswart's nephew. "But remains were unrecoverable. So we never where he was, so now we now. We have him here."
In 2015, The Defense POW-MIA Accounting Agency began trying to identify the remains from Pearl Harbor. Middleswart's family gave their DNA for analysis. He was the 300th member identified from the Oklahoma project.
Now his family plans to bury him at Fort Rosecrans. It's a closed cemetery, but Middleswart's family has gotten permission to make it his final resting place. It is scheduled for June 8, according to family members.
"We've always had hope," Brown said.