After almost 80 years, a fallen World War II Navy sailor has finally returned home. 

On Tuesday, July 11, Nutley Township community members gathered at the World War II Memorial to pay their respects to the fallen Nutley resident, US Navy Ordnancemen First Class Anthony Di Petta, whose remains were recovered decades after he was killed in a WWII air strike. 

Following a private service, Di Petta’s funeral procession made its way past the World War II Memorial as well as supporters honoring the Di Petta family and the memory of the fallen sailor who sacrificed his life for our country. 

“We welcomed home one of our Nutley sons who has been gone for over 79 years,” shares Mayor Joseph Scarpelli. “The community was there to console his family and we thank Anthony Di Petta for his service and for making the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedoms.” 

“The whole town came together to welcome a hero home and send him to his final resting place, the correct way,” relays Commissioner John V. Kelly, III. “I think of the quote from George S. Patton: ‘It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.’ I think that is true here. We are all honored that he called Nutley home and that he laid down his life for friends, family and his country. We are honored he was a part of Nutley. Even though it’s almost 80 years later, we hope that his return home can bring some comfort to his family.” 

On September 10, 1944, 24-year-old Di Petta, along with two other crew members, boarded their Avenger bomber jet, taking off from the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier to conduct air strikes against enemy targets. Their aircraft was struck by enemy fire and crashed in the waters near Malakal Island, located in the Pacific Ocean about 800 miles southwest of Guam. Recovery efforts were halted in the summer of 1947, and on July 16, 1949, Di Petta and crew were declared non-recoverable.

The crash site was then located in 2015 after several years of Project Recover search missions. In partnership with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), Project Recover recovered MIAs from the Avenger during their first MIA Recovery Mission in 2021. Scientists from DPAA used dental analysis to identify Di Petta’s remains, while scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find them on social media at Defense POW / MIA Accounting Agency or https://www.linkedin.com/company/defense-pow-mia-accounting-agency.

Di Petta’s personnel profile can be viewed at https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000001nzYvcEAE