Illinois sailor killed at Pearl Harbor buried in Joliet
CHICAGO, Illinois -- An Illinois sailor killed in the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor has been laid to rest with full military honors.
Hundreds of people gathered in Joliet Saturday to pay their respects to Michael Glajdik.
The 25-year-old sailor, who is from Lockport Township, was on the U.S.S. Oklahoma on December 7, 1941, when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor killing more than 2,300 Americans.
His remains were recovered following the attack but were not positively identified until recently because of improvements in DNA technology.
Maryann Sternisha said her husband, George, who is Galajdik's nephew, was notified by the military about the positive identification.
Sternisha and his now deceased sister had been hoping to fulfill their promise they made to their mother in 2003 to bring Galajdik home.
"It's been something that my husband has wanted to do for years and years, to bring closure and to fulfill a wish that his mother had of bringing him home, which she never was able to do," Sternisha said.
Glajdik's remains arrived Friday afternoon at O'Hare Airport to full military honors from the Navy and the Chicago Fire Department.
