COLONIE, NY (WNYT) The remains of Private First Class George Traver were returned home to Chatham, New York Friday, 73 years after he died during battle in World War II.
Traver, a Marine, was 25-years-old when he was killed in the South Pacific, November 20, 1943.
Traver’s body was one of dozens recently unearthed in a mass grave and brought home by the organization called History Flight.
Traver’s family was on the observation deck at Albany International Airport as the flag-draped coffin was unloaded Friday.
“I knew I was named after him but I didn’t know why,” said nephew George Traver, now age 71. His mother told him the story: “She knew George before she knew my father and left it at that.”
A law enforcement motorcade then brought the coffin to Chatham, where a funeral was held on Sunday.
“Today means to me that there’s going to be closure,” said Dorothea Wheeler, Traver’s niece. “My grandmother’s going to be real happy. She has been waiting for this for a long time.”