LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The homecoming of a Kentucky World War II veteran has been 81 years in the making.

Through DNA technology, the remains of Army Pfc. Thomas Brooks were identified in June.

Brooks, a native of Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, was captured and taken as a prisoner of war by the Japanese. 

The 23-year-old died at the Cabanatuan POW camp in the Philippines in December 1942. Officials said more than 2,500 POWs died at the camp during WWII. The Kentuckian was buried in the camp's cemetery in "Common Grave 917."

Brooks' remains will be brought back to Kentucky for an Oct. 1 burial in Mammoth Cave, Kentucky.

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