Illinois sailor Michael Glajdik, killed in the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor was laid to rest Saturday April 22, 2017 with full military honors.
Hundreds of people gathered in Joliet Saturday to pay their respects to Michael Glajdik.
The 25-year-old sailor who was from Lockport Township was on the U.S.S. Oklahoma on December 7, 1941 when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, killing more than 2,300 Americans.
Fireman First Class Michael Glajdik’s remains were recovered following the attack, but were not positively identified until made possible by recent improvements in DNA technology.
Maryann Sternisha said her husband, George Sternisha who is Galajdik’s nephew, was notified by the military about the positive identification.
Sternisha and his now deceased sister — had been hoping to fulfill their promise they made to their mother in 2003 — to bring Galajdik home.
“It’s been something that my husband has wanted to do for years and years to bring closure and to fulfill a wish that his mother had of bringing him home, which she never was able to do,” Sternisha told ABC 7 Chicago.
Glajdik’s remains arrived Friday afternoon April 21, 2017 at O’Hare Airport to full military honors from the Navy and the Chicago Fire Department, including a water salute.
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CFD Water Salute on Friday April 21, 2017 at O’Hare for Fireman First Class Michael Glajdik, killed in the bombing Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941 and positively identified in 2017 (water salute begins at 0:24).