Remains Of Pearl Harbor Identified

December 7th is the anniversary of the beginning of World War II. Or at least, when the United States entered the war. It had been going on for around four years until the country took action. Generally, the war started in September of 1939.

Nine Japanese fighter plans were sent to attack the Hawaiian Islands. Two naval ships were destroyed and 2,388 Americans died that day according to the stats that the U.S. National Park Service hold.

Ensign Robert Tills was one of the casualties that was a result of that day. They believe he died from machine gun bullets. His sister, only 11 at the time of his death, has been given news she still finds hard to believe.

"Our minister heard over the radio that he was among the missing and called us," she said recently. "Then somebody came to the house a couple of weeks later and said he was killed."

His body hadn't been found. Jean, her sister, and parents only had memories to hold onto Robert with. Bob was a nickname they often called him by.

"Airplanes and flying- that was his passion," Jean, who is now 78, remembers about her brother. "He wanted to do that from the time he was little. I was just very proud of him and idolized him. He was my hero."

After a destroyer escort in 1943, Robert was still one of the 78,000 soldiers' bodies that were missing.

"I always thought the Filipinos had probably found him and buried him somewhere over there," Jean said.

For the most part, she had given up hope of ever finding out what really happened with him. This past summer the Navy contacted her to tell her that her brother's remains had been identified with his dental records. His remains were found at Malalag Bay.

"Oh, I'm very happy about it," she said, "because I'm the only one left, and I've just always wondered, and I'm glad he's finally coming home."

That isn't the end of the story either.

"We found the girl he was going to marry, his fiancée, and she is still alive and in good health," Jean said.

Jean has been living in Colorado Springs, Colorado and she used the internet to find Vicki Quandt Lee. She currently resides in Hendersonville, North Carolina.

"She married somebody named Robert E. Lee, and she just couldn't call him Bob, so she always called him Lee," Jean said.

March 23, 2009 marks the day Robert will finally be laid to rest in the Arlington National Cemetary. He will be given full military honors and Vicki hopes to join Jean on the day.