Relatives of a World War II era airman from Minnesota whose remains were frozen in the California mountains for more than a half century say the identification of the man this week has given them a new family member, and brought closure to an old uncertainty.
Leo Mustonen's well-preserved body was recovered last October in Kings Canyon National Park in California's Sierra Mountains. The U.S. Department of Defense determined the body was that of Mustonen, who was 22 when his plane crashed 64 years ago, Mustonen's niece Leane Ross said Saturday.
The Florida woman never knew her uncle, but she said she somehow knew when the body was found that it was him.
"I have felt confident all along," Ross told The Florida Times-Union. "There was never any question in my mind as to who he was."
Ross said the discovery of her uncle, who grew up in Brainerd, Minn., and died before she was born, has set her family on a new mission, renewing their acquaintance with a long-dead relative.
"He has been personified," Ross said.
Ever since the October discovery, she has been in contact with people who knew him, trying to piece together a personality. The stories add to the picture and other mementos she already has. Along with coins and a comb found in his possession in the glacier, the stories from old friends helped her family feel "as if we almost know him," she said.
"He was very intelligent," Ross said. "He was a good-looking man. He was very fastidious, had a lot of friends, was a hard worker. He was a cadet navigator with the ambition of being an aircraft designer."
Ross said Mustonen will be given a military funeral, and he will be buried with his parents in Brainerd.
Ross said Mustonen's mother grieved until she died in 1969, without ever learning her son's fate.
"She never knew," Ross said. "That's why the closure is so important. She never got over it."
The identification of Mustonen's body has thrilled the family, Ross said, and made her understand the importance of closure for families whose loved ones are missing.
"I think it's been a reawakening for a lot of people in this country that, yes, we need to find the missing people," Ross said.
Mustonen was on an AT-7 navigational training plane when it vanished after leaving on a routine flight Nov. 18, 1942.
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