The remains of an American pilot killed in World War II have been returned to his home in New York City, more than 80 years after his death.
Air Force Staff Sgt. Nicholas Governale, who died in a 1943 crash in the South Pacific while serving with the 69th Bombardment Squadron, received an emotional homecoming at LaGuardia Airport on Friday as generations of his grieving relatives gathered to salute his flag-draped casket. NBC New York reported.
“It’s kind of a dream now,” Edward Veneziano’s nephew told the outlet.
“His focus was always on home — what he could do for his family, how he could help them. All these veterans, all these people who gave their lives for our country, as the years go by, it’s very easy to forget.”
Governale, a Brooklyn native, was aboard a B-25C-1 Mitchell bomber that crashed into the sea after taking off from Carney Field in the Solomon Islands on July 10, 1943. According to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
His remains were never recovered after the war, and he was declared unrecoverable in May 1949 – although his death and disappearance left a long line of loved ones searching for answers.
“This has always been an unanswered question in the family,” Veneziano said.
The family’s long-held hope was finally fulfilled when Governale’s remains were found on May 15, 2025, after Project Recovery, a nonprofit dedicated to locating Americans missing in action, excavated the crash site and used dental and DNA analysis to confirm his identity, the agency announced in January.
Another nephew, Anthony, told NBC that he and his mother submitted DNA samples in 2000 in hopes that one day their long-lost loved ones would be found as technology continued to advance.
“They found Nikki and we were all devastated,” Anthony told the outlet, praising the recovery project.
“This is what they are dedicated to achieving. Their motto is ‘Leave No One Behind’.”
As family members think about their departed relatives unable to welcome Governale back after 83 years, they find comfort in knowing he will be buried next to them in Queens on Saturday during a full military funeral, the newspaper reported.
“It’s a miracle that this happened,” Carl Veneziano said.
“We have Uncle Nick, and he’s with us. We have a place we can go and pray and be with him.”