OREGON, Ohio — Hundreds of community members came out to Clay High School on Saturday to honor and remember Jack Coy, whose plane was shot down in World War Two.
"Well, it's an incredible coming together of not just family but a lot of friends and people that we never even had met before to honor this great man," said Jack Coy's nephew, Jack Koch.
Born five months after his uncle went down in Germany in February of 1944, and named after him, Koch says it warms his heart to see so many people show up to honor his uncle.
"It's overwhelming. At moments you feel sad and kind of overwhelmed and other times you just feel exuberant about how lucky we are to be able to have him come home. And it's just, it's great," said Koch.
Coy was deployed to Europe during World War Two and was a tail gunner onboard a B-24J "Liberator".
When his plane was hit by heavy anti-aircraft fire over Germany, two crew members survived, but Coy and five other crewmen did not.
After the crash, German troops reportedly recovered Coy's remains and buried them in a local cemetery.
Last year, Coy's remains were finally identified made the journey home to Oregon, Ohio to be reunited with his family.
That makes Saturday's memorial a lifetime in the making.
"This is truly an amazing Memorial Day. It means so much to our family and to me that we got to bring our great-uncle home," said Coy's great niece, Shawnelle Johns.
On Sunday, Coy's remains were laid to rest at Willow Cemetery on Pickle Rd.
Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur spoke at the memorial. She expressed the importance of remembering those who have passed on, and how now, Coy and the family can have peace.
"There's a joy in closure to know that your loved one has come home, and that he will lay with their family members here," said Rep. Kaptur.
Kaptur says the family's determination was a testament to their love of a man that many of them never personally knew.
"That's the love that comes through a family, that you never forget. And especially with our soldiers, we bring them home," said Kaptur.
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