Nearly 80 years after a deadly fire at a Tokyo military prison claimed the lives of dozens of American service members, one airman has finally been identified and laid to rest.

 

Corporal Glenn Hodak, a member of the 93rd Bombardment Squadron, 19th Bombardment Group during World War II, was honored this week in a solemn ceremony in Spring Creek, Pennsylvania.

 

He is the first known service member identified from the fire that swept through the Tokyo Military Prison in 1945.

 

Janet Clement, who traveled from Richmond, Virginia, attended the service to pay her respects. Her uncle, Sgt. Henry Lawrence Younge, served alongside Hodak in the same bomber group and remains among the unidentified.

 

“I’m here because of my excitement and hope that Glenn Hodak’s identification will lead to my uncle’s,” Clement said. “They served together in Guam, and for years we thought there were no remains. But now we know there are—and that brings hope, not just for me, but for so many families still waiting." 

 

The identification was made through DNA analysis and forensic anthropology, part of an ongoing effort to recover and identify U.S. service members lost during the war.

 

Dr. Alexander Christensen, a forensic anthropologist involved in the identification process, said, “Every identification that we do make contributes to the process of figuring out the whole rest of that group and identifying as many of them as we can and wrapping it all up.”

 

Hodak’s return offers renewed hope to families who have waited generations for answers—and for the chance to bring their loved ones home.

 

For more information on the US Governments ongoing service member identification efforts, visit here.