Walnut Creek

WWII veteran's remains returned to Walnut Creek family

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Traffic came to a stop in Walnut Creek over the weekend as police and fire agencies cleared the way for a procession of fallen soldiers.

Army Lt. Herman J. Sun-Stad was killed during World War II, serving as a member of a composite unit known as Merrill's Marauders. It wasn't until June that his body was finally accounted for.

His remains were flown to the Bay Area last week to be reunited with his daughter, Dianne Carbine of Clayton, and she will say her final goodbye to her father on Veterans Day.

Traffic came to a stop in Walnut Creek as police and fire agencies cleared the way for a procession of fallen soldiers. Pete Suratos has the details.

Carbine, 80, was born a month after her father was killed. Growing up, she always wanted to know more about the man she never got to meet.

"I’ve felt his spirt around me all my life, but I've never met him before," Carbine said Friday. "But I did tonight."

It’s not clear why it took so long to return Sun-Stad's remains, but for decades, the family was told his remains were unrecoverable. Until June.

That's when an Army representative met with Carbine to give her the good news and coordinate his return.

Carbine and her family will inter his remains at a cemetery in Lafayette.

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