World War II veterans' remains return to Western New York

Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The remains of a United States soldier killed in World War II in 1944 are returning to Western New York. DNA testing confirmed the remains of PFC Bartholomew C. Loschiavo after decades of family research.

Private First Class Loschiavo entered the military on Sept. 16, 1940. He served with Company A, 1st Battalion, 329th Infantry Regiment, 83rd Infantry Division, in the European Theater during World War II. PFC Loschiavo was killed in action on Oct. 1, 1944, while in combat against German troops near Grevenmacher, Luxembourg.

David Loschiavo says his father and brother started looking for records nearly 30 years ago.

"It started in 1996, my father started doing research requesting records from the US Army. And if you fast forward to around 2020, my brother Dan started doing similar work and had much more success," says David, the great-nephew of PFC Loschiavo.

He says his brother Don purchased a large amount of records, and then discovered his great uncle was in a grave in the military cemetery in Luxembourg.

Initially, his remains were not found by the military, and he was reported to his family as MIA. Unknown to U.S. Army officials, Mr. Loschiavo’s remains were discovered by local residents and buried in the Church Cemetery of Grevenmacher.

In the late 1940s, the burial site was discovered by U.S. military, and Mr. Loschiavo's remains were transferred to the Luxembourg American Cemetery, where he has remained in an anonymous grave for over 75 years.

The story has generated a lot of excitement among Private Loschiavo's large family, as he was one of 11 siblings.

"I asked them, did you guys all know about the story ever since you were a child? And they all say my parents talked about this," says David. "We all knew about Uncle Bart, so it's great to bring closure for that generation for people that many of them never met, but it's a tight group."

First Class Loschiavo’s remains will arrive at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport on Thursday. Funeral services will be held June 1 at 10 a.m. ET at Lakeshore Memorial Funeral Home in West Seneca, where the public will be invited. His burial will be at at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.

David Loschiavo had asked about a service on Memorial Day.

"Memorial Day is Uncle Bart's birthday. It just falls that way this year," explains David.

After speaking to members of the military who are helping plan and assign resources, it turned out not to be a good day, as other events had already been planned.