Hundreds of people gathered in Joliet Saturday to pay their respects to Michael Glajdik.
[Ads /]
The 25-year-old sailor who is from Lockport Township was on the U.S.S. Oklahoma on December 7, 1941 when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor killing more than 2,300 Americans.
His remains were recovered following the attack, but were not positively identified until recently because of improvements in DNA technology.
Maryann Sternisha said her husband, George who is Galajdik's nephew, was notified by the military about the positive identification.
[Ads /]
Sternisha and his now deceased sister -- had been hoping to fulfill their promise they made to their mother in 2003 -- to bring Galajdik home.
"It's been something that my husband has wanted to do for years and years to bring closure and to fulfill a wish that his mother had of bringing him home, which she never was able to do," Sternisha said.
Glajdik's remains arrived Friday afternoon at O'Hare Airport to full military honors from the Navy and the Chicago Fire Department.