MOUNT CARMEL, Pa. — Dozens of people gathered at St. Mary's Cemetery near Mount Carmel on Friday to say a final goodbye to a hometown hero.
Sgt. John Nolan died on May 18, 1944, at the age of 22, while he served in World War II.
Sgt. Nolan was one of 11 crew members aboard a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber that was hit by enemy fire. Sgt. Nolan and another soldier were unidentified and buried together in the Long Island National Cemetery.
Family member Robert Nolan took a DNA test in 2012, which identified the remains.
"As a veteran myself, everything is a mission, and this mission is completed. It's a missing link to the Nolan link, and it's fulfilled now," Robert Nolan said.
Robert Nolan and Linda Hearn are John Nolan's family members. John was their dad's first cousin. Linda chose to have his service on Memorial Day weekend.
"But I had nothing to say about when his remains arrived here, which happened to be May 18, exactly 80 years from the day he died," Linda Hearn said.
There was a mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, followed by the burial. Sgt. Nolan's family is happy to have him home.
"I can't describe that. I was afraid I was going to be dead and buried before John was buried," Hearn said.