Decades after an airman from Winsted died in World War II his family has finally laid him to rest.

Authorities declared Staff Sgt. John Canty missing in action in 1944. He was 22 years old at the time.

On Tuesday, he received a military burial at Arlington National Cemetery.

Canty was Torrington resident Susan Madison's great-uncle.

"We all knew he had been on a plane that had been shot down over France, and his body had never been recovered," Madison says.

That was all the family knew for decades -- until the military called a few months ago in an effort to identify remains found at the crash site.

They'd found Canty's dog tags with bones that DNA testing eventually confirmed were his.

"We were very surprised and excited, because here it is 74 years later," Madison says. "It was incredible that they were able to match this and say, 'Yes, this is your uncle.'"

More than 20 Connecticut relatives attended a private funeral at Arlington National Cemetery Tuesday with full military honors.

Remains from some of Canty's crew members are still lost, but some of their relatives attended his funeral as well.

Madison says she hopes those mourners eventually receive the same closure her family has.