After being lost for sixty-five years, the body of Army Air Force Cadet Earnest Glenn Munn has finally returned home to his family. Munn died in a military plane crash in 1942 in the Sierra Mountains.
Ernest Glenn Munn arrived home yesterday, flying in on a Delta Airlines cargo plane at Pittsburgh International Airport. But what sets this homecoming apart from others?
In 1942, an AT-7 Navigator aircraft carrying four crew members were on a training mission. They crashed in the Sierra Mountain Range in California, killing all crew members including Army Air Force Cadet Glenn Munn who was 23-years-old at the time.
According to a news report, a backpacker found some remains on top of a glacier and after DNA testing came back to be a positive match to Munn's sister. There was also a driver's license found on the body.
In 2006, the remains of another crew member were found and originally thought to be Munn but after reports came back confirming them to be of someone shorter than 6-feet, it ruled out the 6-foot, 5-inch Munn.
Munn's body was met by his three sisters, who felt some sense of closure but even after 65 years of waiting for his return, they wept.
Over the years since his plane went down, both of Munn's parents died -- his father, Joseph, in 1972 and mother, Sadie, in 2000. Eight nieces and nephews, 25 great-nieces and -nephews, and 26 great-great-nieces and -nephews were born. World War II ended, as did the Korean, Vietnam and Gulf wars. Twelve presidents served in office.
On a promise to her son, Munn's mother never cut her hair because she waited for his return to do so.
"We always asked her why she wore her hair in a big bun, so one day she let her hair down, and it fell to below her waist. She told me when (Munn) left for the war, he said, 'Mom, you have such beautiful hair. Don't ever cut it.'
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Remains Of A Military Member Missing Since 1942 Make Their Way Back Home
