LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Kentucky sailor killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor is finally back home in the Commonwealth.

On Tuesday, the remains of Seaman 1st Class Elmer Patterson Lawrence arrived in Louisville. There was a special procession south toward Brandenburg, where his nephew, Michael Edwards, lives.

"I didn't expect anything like this," Edwards said.

That ride on Tuesday is the closest Edwards has come to his uncle; a man he never got to meet.

"In this day and age it's a wonderful thing that people care," Annette Edwards, Michael's wife, said.

Riders from Rolling Thunder, police and firefighters lined the route.

"My head's still circling. Amazing. It was amazing. We didn't expect nothing like that," Edwards said.

Elmer Lawrence was born in Barren County and at 23 years old, enlisted in the Navy.

He was stationed on the USS Oklahoma. Family said that he worked overnight into the early hours of December 7, 1941, and went to bed. Just before 8 a.m., his ship was bombed by Japanese torpedoes.

"Changed his life. Changed our lives," Edwards said.

Hundreds died, but Lawrence was among the 388 sailors and Marines aboard who went unidentified for more than 70 years.

"I didn't ever think they'd find him, to tell you the truth," Edwards said.

For decades, Edwards, and his wife, Annette heard stories about Uncle Elmer from those who knew him, including from his own mother. That was Elmer Lawrence's sister.

"They were best friends. He was her hero," Edwards said. "I didn't know him, but he was my uncle Elmer no matter what."

Edwards built a new link beyond blood with his uncle as he served in Vietnam.

"My oldest son in the Air Force. My youngest son was in the Army," Edwards said. "My son-in-law was in the Army. Grandson was in the Army. And her (Annette's) dad."

Generations of veterans returned home and finally, years after Edwards and his sister submitted DNA samples for identification, their uncle is back in Kentucky.

Seaman Lawrence will be laid to rest in his native Barren County, right by his father and near a plaque that marked his death more than 80 years ago.

"It's been a journey, but it's been a win-win for us," Edwards said. "My mom's smiling. He's home"

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