SAN DIEGO — Walter Mintus’ relatives, Kathy Coder and Elijah Kozak, said their “Uncle Bert” was a Navy Aviation Radioman Third Class during World War II.
In July 1944, Mintus "Uncle Bert" was part of a bombing mission targeting a Japanese base in Palau when his Avenger warplane was shot down, just one day shy of his 23rd birthday.
Mintus was with two others onboard. He was reported Missing In Action and presumed dead in 1946.
In 2013-2014, the founder of the non-profit Project Recovers, an organization dedicated to finding U.S. service members who were killed in action during World War II, connected with researchers at Scripps La Jolla.
A few years later, divers located the plane and remained in Palau in 2016. Those remains were sent to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency labs for testing.
"My grandmother and all her siblings would say, 'Someday Uncle Bert is going to come home,' here, my Dad gave his DNA along with my cousin, and it was a match. Seventy-four years later, and he was found," said Coder.
They finally verified it was Mintus’ remains in 2018, nearly 80 years after he’d been declared missing.
"We were all just blown away. It's one of the best things in our lives," said Coder.
"It was awesome. Emotionally, I was taken back by it," said Kozak.
Minuts’ family held a funeral with full military honors in his hometown of Portage, Pennsylvania.
Mintus has a special place on Mount Soledad, where he will be forever remembered for his ultimate sacrifice.
"This is what America is about. It brought us closure and united us, and we’re so honored," said Coder.
"It's a lot of emotions. You know, it's awesome. I appreciate the people of San Diego and his being able to come here and be here forever. This is how we're going to remember him," said Kozak.
The Memorial Day service honoring Walter "Uncle Bert" Mintus and unveiling his plaque takes place Monday at 11 a.m. at Mount Soledad National Veterans Memorial. It is open to the public.
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