World War II vet buried at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery after DNA identification.

ST. LOUIS (KMOV) — The body of a local soldier was finally laid to rest Friday decades after he died in battle.

Melvin Meyer was a 25-year-old bombardier in World War II. He was serving in a B-17 Flying Fortress when it was shot down by enemy fighters over Germany. Some of his crew survived, but Meyers did not make it out.

In 2019, his body, buried in a German cemetery, was identified using DNA evidence. He is now interred in Jefferson National Cemetery.

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