Right now, teams of scientists, historians and countless others are searching for World War II servicemen still missing around the world.
About 72,000 American servicemen are listed as unaccounted for and many were from Florida. That number gets smaller each day as families receive closure.
That’s about to happen for a Vero Beach family after 82 years of mystery, frustration and sadness.
Army Private Robert Hurst from Wabasso will be given full military honors at his burial at the Winter Beach Cemetery in Indian River County on Saturday.
WPTV anchor and Navy veteran Mike Trim spoke with the Hurst family and the teams that worked through the years that made Hurst’s positive identification.
Robert Hurst’s nephew, Donald Hurst, still can’t believe it.
“I said to myself, this will never come true in my lifetime,” he said.
Robert Hurst’s whereabouts have been family folklore for a generation.