May 17 (UPI) -- The remains of U.S. Marine veteran Grady Kurpasi, who volunteered to fight in Ukraine following Russia's invasion last year, will be returned Friday to the United States and his family.
Kurpasi's remains, which were located following a nine-month search by the global human rights advocacy group Weatherman Foundation, will arrive Friday on a Turkish Airlines Flight from Istanbul to New York's JFK International Airport.
A brief ceremony will be held at the airport to honor the fallen soldier before his remains are to be transferred to a private flight to Wilmington, N.C., to be reunited with his family.
"Our family is deeply grateful to the Weatherman Foundation for their tireless efforts to find our beloved Grady's remains and to bring him home to us," said Kurpasi's wife, Heeson Kim.
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