GLENWOOD, Iowa (KMTV) — After more than eight decades, 2nd Lt. Blaine Wilcox is finally coming home to Glenwood.
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The World War II bombardier went missing over Europe with his B-17 crew 81 years ago. An Offutt forensics lab was able to identify his remains, bringing closure to a family that has waited generations for answers.
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Dorothy Sahlstein was a little girl when her sister Wanda married Blaine Wilcox.
"Oh, he was, he was wonderful," Sahlstein said when asked about his personality.
Wilcox was shot down and buried in an unmarked grave in what is now Poland. His brother Stuart was killed over the English Channel only a few months earlier.
"And there were so many unanswered questions," said Art Sahlstein, Wilcox's nephew.
Sahlstein sought answers for decades, finally getting some when Wilcox's remains were identified in April.
"I didn't know how to feel, okay. This story and this mysterious uncle has been with me for virtually my whole life," he said.
Wilcox's wife and son are no longer living, making Dorothy one of the few living relatives who knew him. Her daughter Sandy Lemke heard about him throughout her childhood.
"I grew up looking at this picture, and my mom also, has always had a picture of Blaine and Wanda, and their son David, above the television," she said.
Wilcox was escorted to Glenwood by law enforcement and soldiers from Fort Riley. Mills County Chief Deputy Josh England was among those who participated in the escort.
"Being a veteran, plus serving here, I was like, this hero needs an escort home," England said.
The timing of his return coincides with Glenwood's Homecoming celebration, 90 years after his own graduation from Glenwood Hight school.
"Everything full circle," Lemke said.
There will be a graveside service for Wilcox on Tuesday at 2 p.m., 81 years to the day he was killed.
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