BEAUMONT, Texas — We are less than a week from the 80-year anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. For the Saunders family, this moment has been nearly 80 years in the making.
Known as the day of infamy, less than a week from the anniversary of Pearl Harbor, Navy Seaman 2nd class Mr. Charles l. Saunders is finally home.
Saunders was assigned to the USS Oklahoma. He was on that vessel on Dec. 7, 1941. That's when the unthinkable happened Japanese bombers attacked Pearl Harbor.
Saunders gave his life to our country.
For 79 years, the Saunders family has waited for this moment Charles' homecoming, finally laying this hero's body to rest.
For decades, hundreds of U.S. military remains went unidentified following the attack at pearl harbor.
They were just too hard to identify, but advances in DNA testing and technology have made it easier for scientists.
Saunder's sister Anna Belle made it her life mission to find Charles. She worked with the military to gather DNA to help identify her brother's remains.
Finally, in February 2021, the news the Saunders' family had been hoping for they found a match.
Charles remains had been identified, but as for Anna Belle, she passed away in 2019, never getting to hear the good news herself.
A journey decades in the making and Thursday night, a homecoming for a hero.
Emmett Hollier with the Patriot Guard Riders helped guide Charles' body back home.
"You look in the rearview mirror you see the hearse behind you, you start getting goosebumps because you know you're doing something wonderful."
Charles l. Saunders will be officially laid to rest 80 years to the day of his passing at Pearl Harbor this upcoming Tuesday at Fairview Cemetery in Winnie.