On Saturday, a circuitous 65-year journey will end when Ernest Glenn Munn is laid to rest in the family plot in Colerain, Ohio.

Mr. Munn left home in 1942 to fight in World War II, but died in a plane crash in California's Sierra Nevada mountain range during a training flight. The Army airman's frozen remains were discovered by a hiker in August and transported to the Army's identification laboratory in Hawaii before arriving yesterday at Pittsburgh International Airport, where a hearse awaited for the final leg of his trip home.

The Army-escorted casket was met by Mr. Munn's three sisters: Lois Shriver, 83, of Emsworth; Jeanne Pyle, 87, of St. Clairsville, Ohio; and Sara Zeyer, 85, of Adena, Ohio. They were informed in February that the remains were those of their older brother, Glenn.

"It's joyful in a way to think that we're really bringing him back, but it's kind of sad in a way, too," Mrs. Shriver said.

"Because I remember him as a young boy, a young man. I don't think of him as an old person like us."

Ernest Glenn Munn

As a young man, Mr. Munn was always protective of his younger sisters, growing up on a small farm in Pleasant Grove, Ohio. After graduating from high school he worked an office job in Wheeling, W.Va., but when the United States got involved in World War II, he did the same.

On Nov. 18, 1942, he and three other cadets took off from a Sacramento, Calif., airfield in an AT-7 navigational trainer plane and never returned. The crash site was found in 1947, but no bodies.

Remains found in 2005 turned out to be crewmate Leo Mustonen, and the sisters resumed their wait. But in August two hikers in Kings Canyon National Park found another man's remains, and the identification process began again as Mr. Munn's sisters anxiously waited.

The remains were taken to the Joint POW-MIA Accounting Command in Hawaii, which identifies missing Americans from past conflicts. Given that the remains were found near the crash site and the cadet was outfitted in World War II-era gear, it was determined he must have been from the 1942 crash. And though the first name couldn't be made out on his name tag, "Munn" was clearly visible.

But JPAC always takes its time to make sure. DNA from the remains and Mrs. Pyle were matched at the military's DNA identification lab in Rockville, Md. An independent consultant reviewed and approved of the work. And the Army's casualty services office confirmed the identification and contacted the family in February.

"It is somewhat of a lengthy process, not just because of our work here, but because of all the other agencies that are involved," said Maj. Brian DeSantis of JPAC.

The sisters met with casualty services representatives to plan a funeral with full military honors, which will be held Saturday at St. Frances Cabrini Catholic church in Colerain -- even though Mr. Munn wasn't Catholic.

"It's the only place where there were enough parking spaces," Mrs. Pyle said.

After the service, Mr. Munn will be taken to Holly Memorial Gardens, across the street from where Mrs. Pyle lives, to be buried next to his parents.

A large crowd of family and well-wishers is expected -- including one of the hikers who found the remains -- though Mr. Munn's sisters are among the few people still alive who met him.

"It's going to be difficult, really, because there's not many people his age left. There's not many people our age left, either," Mrs. Shriver said with a laugh.

"So it's going to be different. But I'm sure they're wanting to honor him because he gave his life for his country."