Army Cpl. Albert "Buddy" Earle Mills was laid to rest Monday in his hometown of Dallas after he was reported missing in action in 1950 on the Korean peninsula.
Family and fellow military gathered on a cold, cloudy day at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery to say a final farewell, 68-years in the making.
"It was such an answer to our prayer," said Mills' niece, Eva Arnold. "To have our whole family know that he's home now."
Bone recognition testing earlier this year on a clavicle bone positively identified remains that had been buried for years as an unknown soldier who fought in the Korean War. Mills received a hero's homecoming over the Veterans Day weekend with several ceremonies planned in his honor.
Cpl. Mills, affectionately called "Buddy," grew up in Dallas, and at 18-years-old, he enlisted in the United States Army. Almost a week after 20th birthday, Mills died following a battle in South Korea. His body was never identified.
Decades later, his family finally received the closure they had been praying for.
"We always wondered what happened to 'Uncle Buddy.' It had been a mystery all these years," Arnold said. Arnold received the call that her uncle’s remains were identified on a special day to the family.
"At first I was shocked! After 68 years they found my uncle," she said. "This has always been the biggest question in our family. As I was receiving the news it hit me, I said, 'This is his birthday.' We got the news on his birthday that he was finally identified and that he is coming home. Right now we are joyous! This is not a time of mourning, this is a time of joy because this is a celebration of answers that we did not get for 68 years," Arnold said.
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Arnold was given the flag off Mills' casket. She placed her hand over it and said, "We're glad you're home. We're glad you're home."
More than 7,600 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War.
NBC 5 Noelle Walker contributed to this report.
