An American war hero who was killed in action in Vietnam 51 years ago was finally laid to rest on Sunday in San Diego, Calif., with full honors.
Lt. Commander Frederick Crosby was buried on Sunday at Rosecrans National Cemetery, a half century after he went missing in Vietnam.
Crosby was killed during a bomb assessment mission in 1965, according to NBC San Diego.
Crosby’s daughter, Deborah, worked for decades to fulfill a promise the family had made to her grandmother. On Sunday, that promise was fulfilled.
“I’m just overwhelmed with gratitude and with pride and with emotion,” Deborah told NBC. “It was more than I could ever expect. It’s just been a really amazing day.”
Crosby’s remains were found in a pond in Thanh Hoa province, according to the Associated Press, with the help of a lifelong native who recalled for investigators a day he saw an American plane crash near his home.
Days before last Memorial Day, Deborah got a call from the military telling her they had found her father.
“It was really overwhelming,” Deborah said of the phone call. “It brought me back to the day I found out about my dad’s death. It was very emotional. I just burst out into tears. It was very overwhelming.”
“My dad is home, and here we grew up in Pt. Loma, so my dad being buried here at Fort Rosecrans is truly coming home. He’s home at last,” Deborah told NBC.