(CAPITOL CITY NOW) – After nearly 84 years, Illinois Army National Guard Pfc. Harry Jerele is finally home. His remains arrived at Chicago O’Hare International Airport on Tuesday, greeted by family and military personnel. Jerele, from Berkeley, Illinois, served with Company B, 192nd Tank Battalion, and was activated for federal service in 1940.

A Military Funeral and Honors team carried out the transfer of Jerele’s flag-draped coffin from the plane to a hearse from Russo’s Hillside Chapels. His niece, Rosemarie Dillon, who was five when Jerele went overseas, and her daughter Sharon Nakamua, a veteran of the Illinois National Guard, were there to welcome him home. “It’s exciting to have him home after all these years,” Dillon said.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced April 18 that Jerele’s remains were identified Dec. 20, using anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.

Burial and full military honors on Friday at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery.