Navy hero, Pearl Harbor victim finally comes home to rest

John England was a naval officer who died in World War II aboard the USS Oklahoma, during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor after helping some fellow servicemen get to safety.

His remains were unidentified, his parents were unable to properly grieve.

On Saturday, at Evergreen Cemetary, England came home to rest beside his mother and father after 75 years

“It’s hard to describe but my great grandparents had nothing returned to them,” England’s granddaughter Bethany Glenn said. “They didn’t mourn him. I think their mourning process was disrupted because they had no place to mourn or a body to bury. So, for our family, it’s a beautiful sense of closure that’s been needed for 75 years.”

England’s remains were identified a few years after the war through dental records. It wasn’t until last year the family, through DNA testing, got a positive match that allowed England to come home and be buried next to his parents at Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs.

Family, naval officers and veterans paid respects and expressed gratitude for England’s service and sacrifice.

“My grandparents, they would be so ecstatic to have him here,” niece Katy Bemiss said. “I guess I’m feeling what they would feel. They would feel so wonderful to bring him home.”

After years of wonder and uncertainty, Glenn is at peace, experiencing some closure.

“It’s indescribable,” she said. “I never knew my grandfather. I can’t imagine what his parents and sister went through. I just know what my mom went through. It’s a wonderful feeling, a wonderful feeling to put them together.”