Pvt. Joseph Carbone, a 20-year-old Brooklyn native, was serving with the 2nd Marine Division when he was killed during the assault on Tarawa atoll during World War II in November 1943. (OBTAINED BY DAILY NEWS)
The World War II hero, killed in combat in November 1943, returned to the borough of his birth Saturday for a long-delayed funeral after DNA from his niece led to his identification.
“I’m very, very happy,” said Nancy Lewis, 72, whose genetic sample proved a match. “It has been a journey. As a child, I always felt so sorry and I wondered what relief I could bring. And I did.”
Lewis was joined by more than 100 Marines, relatives and local residents inside the Basilica of Regina Pacis for a funeral Mass that felt more homecoming than a farewell.
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