Remains Of Pilot Killed During WWII Return To UT

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — It’s hard for Mary Ann Hadfield Turner to explain how she feels.

“I didn’t think that after 74 years that he would come back and that I would be here to see this,” she said.

Turner was just two when her dad, Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Lynn Hadfield, never returned from fighting in World War II.

“The only thing my mother and my grandma knew, his mom, was that he was shot down over Germany and that was it,” said Turner.

Tuesday, family members from near and far gathered for his dignified transfer, a tribute to a man they heard so much about.

74-years after his plane was shot down during WWII, 2nd Lt. Lynn W. Hadfield will be laid to rest in his home state of Utah. His remains were recently found in Germany.

A family member tells me she has always heard stories of “Uncle Lynn,” now they have some closure. pic.twitter.com/bljztdK7J0

— Caitlin Burchill (@newsyCaitlin) March 20, 2019

They’re thankful for a German researcher and others who worked tirelessly to find his remains in a farm field.

“I think it’s indescribably beautiful that a German man would do this for an enemy aircraft. It is just so beautiful,” said Turner.

This week marks the 74th anniversary of Hadfield’s disappearance.

“It fills an emptiness that I’ve felt for I don’t know how long and it gives me peace, a peace that I haven’t known my whole life.”

Thursday, he will finally be buried at home.