He was shot down in the Pacific Ocean in WWII. Almost 80 years later, his remains are finally home

CNN ^ | Sara Smar

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CNN CNN He was shot down in the Pacific Ocean in WWII. Almost 80 years later, his remains are finally home Story by Sara Smart • 8h ago

Almost 80 years after Anthony Di Petta’s plane was shot down by enemy fire in World War II and over 70 years after he was declared “non-recoverable,” he’s finally home.

The remains of the sailor arrived back in the US on Friday afternoon, according to an agency of the US Department of Defense.

Di Petta, from Nutley, New Jersey, served as a US Navy Aviation Ordnanceman during World War II, according to a news release from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA).

The sailor, 24 at the time of his death, was born in Italy but immigrated to the US around 1921, according to a nonprofit called Project Recover, which took part in the recovery effort. He had enlisted in the US Navy by 1940.

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