In the days before Christmas, the Keninger family gathers around old black and white photos, remembering someone who can only be there in spirit to celebrate the season, Fireman First Class Leo Keninger.

He was killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor while serving in the Navy on the USS Oklahoma, according to the POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

His body has not returned home since, but just recently, members of the military notified relatives that his remains have been positively identified.

Members of his family said they've heard of other World War Two veterans being identified, and wondered if it would ever happen for Leo.

With eight brothers and sisters, Leo has a lot of relatives today.

“There's probably a hundred more of us if we were all here,” said his niece Belva Keninger.

While they didn't get the chance to meet him personally, they all know his story.

“He was always part of the family,” said Elaine Wallace, another of Leo’s nieces. “We never forgot him.”

The Elliot-Keninger American Legion in Ackley is named partially after Leo Keninger.

“The one [name] is the first casualty in the county in World War One, and Leo was the first county casualty in World War Two,” explained Wallace.

When the Keningers got the call from the Navy that Leo had been positively identified from DNA supplied years ago, Wallace said it was a dream come true.

“I just got goosebumps, we've hoped for it for so long,” Wallace said.

Leo’s sister-in-law, Carol, was six years old when Pearl Harbor happened.

Having grown up in Waterloo, she still remembers the celebrations the day the war ended.

“The streets were just packed with people,” Carol said.

Now, she’s just as happy that a soldier who's been gone a long time, but not forgotten, is finally able to return too.

The family is working with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency to plan a military burial.