LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — After 80 years, a Lake County man killed in World War II will receive a hero’s welcome and proper burial this January.

What You Need To Know

  • Airforce Staff Sgt. Franklin Hall was shot down over France in 1944

  • The 21-year-old’s remains were never found and remained a mystery for nearly 80 years

  • Jeff Hester, Hall’s nephew, was asked to do a DNA test in 2017

  • Last month, Hall's remains were returned to Leesburg

Army Air Force Staff Sgt. Franklin Hall was only 21 years old when he was shot down in a bomber over France in 1944.

After the plane went down, Hall was never found, and it appeared no one knew what happened to the young airman.

But thanks to years of research, determination, and DNA, the fallen hero has returned to Florida and will soon receive an official military burial.

Jeff Hester, Hall’s nephew, is best described as part detective and man of family closure for everyone involved.

“It’s quite a puzzle,” said Hester.

Hester knew about what happened to his uncle during WWII, but never met the young soldier and only heard about him at family gatherings.

“I heard them asking each other, ‘What’s your opinion?’ ‘Think you will ever find him?’ types of questions,” said Hester.

Franklin’s mother received telegrams back in 1944 that German soldiers shot her son down over France.

Hester says the family received bad news in the early 1950s.

“In 1951, they actually declared him unrecoverable,” said Hester.

Hester said as the years passed, Franklin’s story faded and the soldier’s mother passed away along with many other family members.

Hester began collecting memorabilia concerning Franklin’s story and set up a small memorial in his living room that has helped piece together the details.

In 2017, the Department of Defense and the POW/MIA Accounting Agency that finds missing soldiers contacted Hester.

“I was contacted by the Department of Defense for my brother and myself to give some DNA sample,” he said.

Hester felt at the time that science could solve their family's mystery.

Not recovering service men is not uncommon. More than 72,000 WWII soldiers remain missing. 

Six years following that DNA sample, Hester received a phone call in early 2023 informing him that Franklin’s remains were found in a grave in northern France.

In December, the young soldier’s remains were flown to Orlando International Airport and then given a motorcade to Leesburg, where they remain.

They will bury Franklin at the Lone Oak Cemetery in Leesburg on Jan. 21, 2024.

A 21-gun salute and flyover are expected, along with many military families in attendance.

It will be 80 years to the day during the funeral that the young soldier was shot down and killed.

Hester has a message to anyone dealing with a missing soldier.

“Hang in there with it. And believe in the system they’re using. They are working hard to find these fallen heroes,” he said.