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WWII Vet Missing For Nearly 70 Years, Laid To Rest In Lowell

LOWELL (CBS) - When the sounds of "Taps" echoed through St. Patrick's Cemetery in Lowell Saturday, it was closure for the family of a hero who paid the ultimate price.

Second Lt. Martin Murray was laid to rest with full military honors on a windy cold day in April 2011, nearly 70 years after he disappeared.

WBZ-TV's Paul Burton reports

Lt. Murray, who joined the service in 1942, was the co-pilot of a plane that went down in New Guinea during World War II.

Initially the military thought the plane was lost at sea, but the wreck turned up seven years ago.

Three generations of Murray's family were in attendance Saturday to honor the fallen hero.

"No one in this group knew him, but we connect with him. It's become very real for us," said second cousin Eileen Ryan. "It makes me proud to be an American."

More than 100 people came to pay their respects to a man they never knew; and to a soldier they'll never forget.

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