GLENWOOD, Iowa (KMTV) — Eighty-one years to the day after 2nd Lt. Blaine Wilcox was killed in action over Europe, his remains were finally laid to rest next to his parents in Glenwood.
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Wilcox was a bombardier on a B-17 during World War II when he was shot down over present-day Poland and buried in an unmarked grave.
His niece, Lois Aistrope, is his closest surviving relative and one of only a few family members who knew him. She remembers her uncles playing catch — and she was the ball.
"One time one of them missed and I went out the window," Aistrope said.
Since learning that her uncle's remains were identified by the forensics lab at Offutt Air Force Base, Aistrope said she's been thinking of her grandmother, who lost two sons in the war, and her mother, their older sister.
"If my mom could be here and see what's happening she would just, be unreal. Things don't happen like that very often," she said.
The family initially thought calls from the military about Wilcox's remains were a hoax, according to Doug Aistrope.
"Mom would mention that she's had these phone calls and we'd say 'Well, I don't know if they're true or not,'" he said.
Even for experienced funeral home owners Georganne and Roger Williams, caring for the long-missing remains was something new.
"They chose today because that was the day he passed away," Georganne Williams said.
"We immediately realized that, if we could work that date out, it was only fitting," said Doug Aistrope.
Family members, spread out over several states, reunited to bury a relative most never knew.
"It's wonderful. Just too bad he's not here," Lois Aistrope said.
As an Army Air Corps officer, the service was conducted by the Army with participation from the American Legion and Patriot Guard Riders.
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