Hero's welcome: Central Florida veteran's remains to be returned home after 80 years

After almost 80 years, a Lake County man killed in World War II will receive a hero's welcome when his remains are returned.

Army Airforce Staff Sergeant Franklin Hall was just 21 years old when his B-24D Liberator was shot down over France in 1944.

Hall's nephew never got to meet him but has worked diligently to keep his memory alive.

"I’ve never known him," said Jeff Hester. "My mother always talked about him. At this point, I feel like I know him. Sometimes I get choked up talking about him."

Hester has his uncle's medals, documents, and even a Leesburg High School diploma.

When Franklin Hall's remains are finally returned to Florida, he will be buried at a cemetery in Leesburg next to his grandparents with full military honors.

The family is hoping to hold the ceremony on the same exact date and time his plane went down 80 years ago.

For surviving family members, this has been a long time coming.

"You kind of put it on the back burner, you know about it, you keep the files and you think, what if they ever find him and then science starts changing," Hester said.

A few years ago, Hester says he was asked to provide DNA to see if it matched the remains found in France.

He says he'll get closure if the past two generations of his family didn't.

Knowing both of Hall's brothers also fought in World War II, the research gave Hester a new appreciation for the Greatest Generation.

"I think the more we respect them and appreciate what they did for this country and respect what they’re doing as far as the repatriation program, is the best," Hester said.