The remains of a West Michigan man killed when his plane crashed during World War II are coming home. The remains of Navy Airman Albert Rybarczyk of St. Joseph will be flown back to Michigan on Thursday. There will be a full military funeral on Monday and then Rybarczyk will be buried next to his parents at St. Joseph's Resurrection Cemetery.
The 22-year-old Rybarczyk was a radio man on a mission in 1944 when the plane he was in released a bomb. The plane was too low and the explosion tore off the plane's tail and caused it to spin into the water. The wreckage was discovered in 2014.
DNA samples of the remains were taken and a positive identification was confirmed in August.
