DNA provided by Gala’s nieces and nephews helped identify his remains on September 10, 2025, WCVB reported. Gala, a Lynn native, was 21 when he was killed in Burma on July 14, 1944, while serving with Merrill’s Marauders. His family received his casket at Logan Airport, and a police escort brought it to Solimine Funeral Home in Lynn, according to WCVB.
WCVB reported that Gala’s relatives spent years seeking answers about what happened to him and that his mother had hoped his remains would return. He graduated from Lynn English High School and entered military service on May 24, 1943, the station reported. His obituary lists his assignment as Company E, 2nd Battalion of the 5307th Composite Unit: the Daily Item obituary published through Legacy.com.
Community members gathered with American flags at Solimine Funeral Home, where students from Lynn English’s ROTC program greeted and saluted Gala’s casket, WCVB reported. Jennifer Mancaniello, a vice principal at the school, attended with students and described the return as meaningful to Gala’s family and Lynn, according to the station.
A graveside service with full military funeral honors is scheduled for noon Thursday, November 5, 2026, in the World War II section of Pine Grove Cemetery. WCVB reported that Solimine Funeral Home said the public is welcome to attend.
The continuing identification effort
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) lists 71,644 World War II personnel as unaccounted for in figures covering cases associated with its mission from 1973 to the present. The agency says that since U.S. POW/MIA recovery efforts resumed in the 1970s, nearly 1,000 Americans killed in World War II have been identified and returned to their families for burial with full military honors, according to DPAA.
