MINNEAPOLIS - Quentin John Gifford was 22 years old when he was killed during the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
The Navy Radioman 2nd Class aboard the USS Oklahoma is remembered as a nurturing leader among his siblings.
"I remember him playing the guitar for me on his knee," sister June Shoen said. "He was quite a bit older than me."
"I ended up with a very satisfying career in aviation all because of the advice that Quentin gave me," brother Harold Gifford said. "This last time I saw him alive, he urged me to go back to high school and quit the work on the farm."
Harold said he never thought he'd ever be this close to his brother again.
"We never expected this to happen, because for 76 years he has been considered having been killed in action," Harold said.
DNA matching helped bring Quentin back to Minnesota, fully identified after decades.
"We put that on his tombstone, f'inally home,'" Shoen said.
She described how all this time, uncertainty had played a role in their lives.
"Your head tells you one thing but your heart tells you something else," Shoen said. "Maybe, maybe he'll walk through that door one day, you know? But it never happened."
With Quentin's return and funeral service for all to see, Shoen said his legacy will never be forgotten. She said her entire family makes sure to talk about Quentin and his service to the country.