The remains of a World War II pilot from Texas have finally been laid to rest in his home state, eight decades after his death. Second Lt. David Murrell Lewis, who served in the U.S. Army Air Forces, was just 20 years old when his aircraft tragically crashed during Operation Tidal Wave in Romania on August 1, 1943, just days shy of his 21st birthday.

Operation Tidal Wave aimed to disrupt the Axis powers' fuel supply by targeting oil refineries. Lewis had volunteered for service on January 8, 1942.

His remains were returned to Texas on Friday, arriving at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, where family and supporters gathered for a procession. The burial took place on Sunday in Saltillo, Texas, followed by a funeral service in Sulphur Springs.

Vivian Dennis-Monzingo, Lewis' closest living relative, shared the long journey to bring him home. In 2014, she received a notification from the Army that they were searching for Lewis' remains. After years of effort by the Army's Mortuary Affairs service, he was finally identified on May 11, 2022.

Dennis-Monzingo expressed a mix of relief and bittersweetness, stating, "It’s hard to describe the emotions. Welcome home, and then I wish all the families could say that because we still have ones missing. At family gatherings, it would come up in the conversations, and of course, it was always the doubt, what happened? Where? It was a mystery. All they knew is he was killed in action." She added, "We’re so glad we can do this in honor of his mom and dad."