Funeral for Sgt. Sanford Roy held 81 years to the day of his death in World War II

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- An American hero’s journey has come to its conclusion after 81 years of mystery and heartbreak.

Tech Sgt. Sanford Roy has finally been laid to rest at the Chattanooga National Cemetery.

This, after eight decades of being missing in action, his family finally has the closure that generations of the Roy family have so desperately wanted.

He was shot down while conducting a bombing mission over Nazi Germany on April 8, 1944.

The gravestone of Sgt. Sanford Roy to be placed at the Chattanooga National Cemetery.

On Tuesday, he received numerous honors including a 21 gun salute, a flyover, and the ceremonial playing of Taps among other musical selections.

For a long journey to this point, surviving family and friends of Sgt. Roy hope that this story can provide comfort to those still missing in action.

More than 80,000 American soldiers still remain missing to this day.

One speaker said, “I want parents to know, and others to know, that they still continue to look for those who are lost, and I thank God for that. I don’t care how many years it takes and I appreciate what they’ve done, and what it means to others.”

His legacy is emblematic of the sacrifices of the Greatest Generation.

Another speaker said, “So he returns home, in a different way than many of them did. And finally finds a place of rest here with his earthly remains. But he found it the day his Lord shot him out of the sky.”

Sgt. Roy was 31 years old at the time of his death.

We thank him for his service and sacrifice.