BOISE - After 73 long years, the remains of Army Private First Class Fred Ashley have finally returned home.
Ashley's family was at the Boise Airport Tuesday night as members of the Idaho Army National Guard Honor Guard participated in a dignified transfer ceremony.
The soldier from Emmett was reported missing in action on May 4, 1945 while on a reconnaissance mission in the former Czechoslovakia.
As many as 300 German troops attacked Ashley's position, mortally wounding him. He was last seen being carried away by the German troops.
Remains of Idaho soldier return home
Shortly after the end of World War II, Ashley’s family received a letter from the U.S. Army saying that local civilians had discovered Ashley's grave site in Czechoslovakia.
But, an examination done years later showed that those remains were not Ashley's, but rather, belonged to another fallen soldier named Richard Lane.
It turns out that the military had misidentified Ashley's remains - thinking they were Lane's - which were taken to Nebraska where he was buried with full military honors.
After analysis this past summer, the mix-up was solved, and plans were made to return Ashley to Idaho.
He will be laid to rest with full military honors on Saturday in Emmett. There will be a special ceremony that day to honor his life and the sacrifice he made for his country.