'He's Home': Missing 73 Years, Medal of Honor Recipient's Remains Return to Georgia

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) Soldiers of the 9th Infantry Regiment made a desperate retreat as North Korean troops closed in around them. A wounded, 18-year-old Army Pfc. Luther Herschel Story feared his injuries would slow down his company, so he stayed behind to cover their withdrawal.

Storys actions in the Korean War on Sept. 1, 1950, would ensure he was remembered. He was awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military honor, which is now displayed alongside his portrait at the National Infantry Museum, an hours drive from his hometown of Americus, Georgia.

But Story was never seen alive again, and his resting place long remained a mystery.

In my family, we always believed that he would never be found, said Judy Wade, Storys niece and closest surviving relative.

That changed in April when the U.S. military revealed lab tests had matched DNA from Wade and her late mother to bones of an unidentified American soldier recovered from Korea in October 1950. The remains belonged to Story, a case agent told Wade over the phone. After nearly 73 years, he was coming home.