PROVO, Utah — A Utah family didn’t know where their son, uncle, brother and cousin was for decades after he went missing during World War II.
Finally, Merle Lloyd Pickup's remains are home and he’s receiving a proper burial with a special service in Provo.
For 78 years, Pickup’s headstone read “Lost in China – World War II." In that time, his family grew six generations.
“As we get further and further away, there’s hardly any World War II vets and we are still bringing them home, and I think that’s wonderful,” said Scott Bond, Pickup's grand nephew, whose grandmother was Pickup's sister.
Pickup — or as his family called him, Mose — had stories about him that had been passed down in the family for generations.
“My mother, who was seven years old at the time, tells me just before she died, she said, 'You know, when he came home, and I was a little girl... he looked so dashing in his bomber's jacket. I just thought, 'This is the neatest man alive,''” recalled Bond.
In 1944, Pickup was just 27. He was on a mission flying supplies between China and India during World War II when his plane went down in the Himalayas because of severe weather.
The Army tried a few times in the 1940s, but was unable to access the crash site. So Pickup's remains were not recovered for nearly 80 years.
“In many ways, I think we had come to peace with what had happened, but not to closure,” said Bond.
Then a couple years ago, the Pickup family got an unexpected call.
“They found the remains and brought him out and then they identified through some DNA extracted from a tooth, they identified positively that it was him," Bond said.
And now this weekend, in Utah, he received the burial he deserved, showing the legacy he left behind.
“A lot of times as people age, fewer and fewer people are available to come to their funeral. But where he didn’t have any direct descendants and has all of these family members, most of them are through nieces and nephews, it’s a special thing,” said Bond.
Even without being married or having kids of his own, friends and family from all over the state and country gathered to pay their respects.
“It warms your heart, and I really appreciate that so many people have come out, and it kind of pulls us together,” said Bond.
With wreaths laid, World War II planes flying over and a gun salute, Pickup is still so loved in his family even generations later.
“Merle was my great great uncle,” said Jude Mieser Clifford, the 9-year-old great-great-nephew of Pickup. “My favorite thing is that he can still be remembered, and a lot of people think it’s very interesting that his remains were found.”
They're saluting a fallen war hero, and paying tribute to the family.
“It’s important that we recognize the sacrifices that are made for freedom — they’re not just made by those who give their lives, but those who give their sons,” said Bond.
