Minnesota Marine missing in action in WWII returns home after remains identified

Local News Minnesota Marine missing in action in WWII returns home after remains identified By Aki Nace Aki Nace Digital Producer, CBS Minnesota Aki Nace has been a web producer for CBS Minnesota since 2019. She covers breaking news and makes short-form documentary films. Read Full Bio Aki Nace October 15, 2026 / 11:47 AM CDT / CBS Minnesota Add CBS News on Google A Minnesota man who served in the U.S. Marine Corps during WWII returned home Thursday morning after he was listed as missing in action for eight decades.Ernest LaVerne Lund was born in Goodhue County in 1915, the second youngest child in a family of 14 siblings. He worked on farms until 1943, when he enlisted in the Marines.According to his obituary, Lund died on May 21, 1944 while working aboard LST-353 when it exploded in the West Loch Disaster at the Pearl Harbor Naval Base in Hawaii.  Dee Lund The Navy, Army and Marines were staging ships in the area to prepare for a campaign to invade the Mariana Islands. An investigation never determined the cause of the explosion, but according to Naval History and Heritage Command, it is one of the greatest non-combat disasters in U.S. history. Lund was listed as missing in action.In 1985, a group of kayakers in Pearl Harbor spotted Lund's remains, but he wasn't identified until 2026 with the help of DNA samples from his family. "It's uplifted us all that he's finally coming home," said Roger McKelvey of Bloomington. "We're finally going to have closure about Ernest Lund, our hero in our family." WCCO His remains arrived in Minneapolis on Thursday morning and formal visitation will be held in Webster, Wisconsin on Friday. His funeral is scheduled for Saturday in Markville, Minnesota. In: World War II Minnesota Featured Local Savings Minnesota school mourns 3 deaths in a matter of days 1990 Ventura County cold case partial human remains identified Family members killed in Douglas murder-suicide identified Reading man charged with killing mother in home due in court Feds take over Red Lake Nation child welfare program after deaths At least 1 dead after wrong-way crash in central Minnesota Watchdog says PFAS found in 100% of Minnesota water testing sites 18-year-old driver killed in single-vehicle, fiery crash in Monroe County