80 Years Later, A Fallen Soldier Is Finally Home

80 Years Later, A Fallen Soldier Is Finally Home

29,353 days. 964 months. 80 years.

That’s how long it’s been since my great great Uncle, 2nd Lt. Justice J. Buttala left home to serve his country in World War II and how long his family waited for him to return, especially my nana, his youngest sister, his only living sibling.

In the spring of 1945, Justice was a 24-year-old airman from Chicago, newly married to Dora Bell and father to a baby girl named Faith. He served as an observer aboard a B-29 Superfortress bomber based in Guam. During an April mission over Japan, his plane was shot down. Justice and four others managed to parachute to safety, but were captured and taken to the Tokyo Military Prison as a POW / MIA.

A month later, tragedy struck again. On May 26, 1945, a U.S. firebombing raid on Tokyo destroyed the prison, claiming the lives of the American prisoners held inside, including Justice.

When the war ended, his family was told that his remains could not be identified. They buried their grief and held on to hope.