Remains Of WWII Marine Killed In The Pacific Come Home To Long Island

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A World War II hero who had been considered missing in action in the Pacific, has finally come home.

An organization that searches for the remains of missing POWs was able to locate and identify the body of U.S. Marine John F. Prince.

As CBS2's Ali Bauman reported, his Long Island family was there when his remains were flown back home.

Inside of a flag draped coffin, the remains of Private First Class John F. Prince arrived at LaGuardia Airport on Wednesday, more than 72-years after he had been killed in combat during World War II.

Family members tearfully touched the coffin, still in shock that his body had been finally found and brought back home.

"We're joyful and grieving, almost at the same time," Lorraine Ryan, Prince's niece said.

Ryan said the Bellerose family had long thought the then 19-year-old Marine's body had been lost in the beachfront waters. The young Marine was part of a fierce fight in November of 1943 to recapture the island of Betio from the Japanese.

The non-profit organization 'History Flight' never gave up looking. With the help of cadaver dogs they found where Prince had been buried in the sand right after the bloody battle that took more than 1,500 lives.

"They asked my sisters if they would give us DNA swabs and they did and then they said, 'well, this is your uncle," Ryan said.

Incredibly the searchers found the rosary beads the young Marine was clutching when he was killed, and evidence of the fatal wound he suffered.

"They found his entire skeletal remains, they have a picture of his skull shows he was shot in the head," Ryan said.

The VFW hall in Bellerose had long honored Pfc. Prince by naming their hall after him. His family said the discovery of his burial site now brings closure for them as well as many other families.

"Ya know, it's to share it with everyone, it's a little bit of everyone coming home, and there are supposedly 35 more remains they want to send home," Ryan said.

Funeral services, 72 years in the making, are finally set for the lost, brave Marine on Friday at St. Gregory The Great church in Bellerose.

After the funeral Pfc. Prince will be laid to rest with full military honors at the Calverton National Cemetery.