A Vero Beach family finally has closure after a generation of mystery, sadness and uncertainty.
World War II Army Private Robert Hurst was buried with full military honors Saturday at Winter Beach Pioneer Cemetery in Indian River County.
Family, friends and veterans groups attended.
Robert Hurst’s nephew Donald Hurst reflected on the day.
“Closure,” he said. “In our family, that will be, it’s a lot of happiness.”
Private Robert Hurst died in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in the Philippines in 1942.
U. S. Army Human Resources Command Public Affairs OfficeDonald Hurst and other family members provided key DNA samples to the military almost seven years ago.
It helped identify Robert Hurst’s remains, first buried in the Philippines, but now buried at home.
“I never met my uncle,” Donald Hurst said. “He died before I was born, but I’d have loved to (have) met him.”
The funeral services started at Cox-Gifford Seawinds Funeral Home in Vero Beach.