SAVANNAH, Ga. () – It’s a homecoming that’s been 81 years in the making. A Savannah hero who served and sacrificed in World War II is finally returning home to rest beside his family.

Today the city will honor 2nd Lieutenant Milton Leonard Hymes Jr., a young airman who vanished in combat and is now getting the tribute he never received.

Hymes was just 22 years old when his bomber went down over the Baltic Sea in 1944. The family says the news of him being found has been overwhelming and today will bring together many different sides of the family.

More than 72,000 Americans are still missing from WWII, but after a year’s long recovery, Hymes, a Savannah High School graduate, is finally coming home.

Hymes served as a navigator with the 565th bombardment squadron of the Mighty Eighth Air Force. During a bombing mission in June 1944, his aircraft collided with another U.S. bomber and crashed into the sea near Denmark. His remains were entombed underwater for decades until a recovery team located the wreckage and began excavation in 2022. Using dental records, divers and DNA analysis, investigators identified him in late 2024. He will be laid to rest with full military honors at Bonaventure Cemetery near the parents he left behind.

John Brannen, the Cemeteries Service Coordinator for the City of Savannah says he was shocked to learn there was a World War II airman that was to be buried over 80 years after he crashed. “The nephew of him got in touch with us and I went to the lot and found that the Lieutenant’s parents are buried here and there’s a space already waiting for him that we have it all prepared already. It’s going to be probably a lot of visitors coming to pay their respects.”

When Hymes’ plane crashed off the coast of Denmark in 1950, he was declared non-recoverable. That has changed now. Friday the public is invited to join the procession and service beginning at 9:30 a.m. with the futural at 10 a.m. at Bonaventure Cemetery.

Lt. Hymes’ name has long been etched on the wall of the missing in England – now, a rosette will mark him accounted for. After more than 80 years, his mission is complete and Savannah will welcome him home. The city says this may be a once-in-a-lifetime event.