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I.D. of WWII gunner’s remains leads to funeral after 73 years

Posted at 4:32 PM, Apr 07, 2018
and last updated 2018-04-07 18:32:18-04

A gunner whose plane crashed in the Pacific Ocean during World War II has been honored at a funeral 73 years later, after his remains were finally identified and returned to his sister in Ohio.
  
A funeral for Ora Sharninghouse Jr. was held Saturday in Findlay, where his 84-year-old sister, Joan Stough, lives.
  
She was 11 when he went missing in action in 1944. She tells The Blade the family didn’t have a funeral previously because their mother always hoped Sharninghouse might return.
  
The remains of Sharninghouse and a radioman were recovered from their torpedo bomber in 2014 near the Republic of Palau. DNA testing helped identify them.
  
Stough says she was stunned when the U.S. Navy told her last August her brother’s remains were identified and would be returned.