BOISE, Idaho — After 80 years missing in action, Lt. Charles Atteberry of Wilder, Idaho, has returned home.

Atteberry, who was captured and killed as a prisoner of war in World War II, was greeted Thursday by family, veterans, and the Idaho National Guard at the Boise Airport.

“We never expected something like this to happen,” said Linsy Atteberry, the soldier’s nephew.

The return of Lt. Atteberry’s remains brings his family one step closer to closure.

Hear from Lt. Atteberry’s nephew and watch his arrival in Boise’

After 80 years missing in action, Idaho soldier Lt. Charles Atteberry finally comes home

“He was buried in a mass grave with hundreds of other servicemen,” Linsy Atteberry said.

A recent update from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency indicates that Atteberry likely spent time on two prisoner ships under the control of the Empire of Japan during his time as a POW.

Both those ships were bombed, and his remains were later exhumed along with 311 others from a mass grave site on a beach in Takao, Formosa, now known as Taiwan.

For decades, Lt. Atteberry’s remains could not be identified until DNA testing confirmed a match, making him officially accounted for.

“We are one of the lucky ones because out of over 900 sets of remains, only 29 have been identified so far,” Linsy Atteberry added.

On Thursday, Atteberry’s remains were met by an Idaho Army National Guard honor guard and members of the Boise Valley POW MIA Corporation who escorted them to a local funeral home.

“Whenever we get one, it’s a big moment. It’s hard to say exactly in words how it makes us feel because it’s just joyous, and I’m sure the family’s happy too. We finally have somebody that comes home. There’s no longer an empty place at the table,” said Ralph Kramer, Executive Officer of the Boise Valley POW MIA Corporation.

“After 80 years, it’s just remarkable that some of his remains are going to be able to be brought home,” Linsy Atteberry said. “Speaking for the family, we really appreciate it.”

Idaho National Guard

Lt. Charles Atteberry will be buried Monday at the Lower Boise Cemetery, next to his parents.

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Surveillance video recorded at a home near the Idaho student murders crime scene shows Bryan Kohberger’s car roaring away from the scene after he killed four University of Idaho undergrads in a home invasion stabbing attack in November 2022.

A white sedan, believed to be Kohberger’s Hyundai Elantra, appears repeatedly before the murders as he circled the neighborhood. Then it sped off in the aftermath as he floored it away from the scene and before he took a circuitous route home, with his phone turned off in an effort to obscure his whereabouts.

Portions of the video were previously leaked to Dateline. Fox News Digital obtained about an hour of video taken at 1112 King Road through a public records request following the lifting of a gag order on the case.

BRYAN KOHBERGER PLEADED GUILTY TO IDAHO STUDENT MURDERS, BUT THESE KEY QUESTIONS REMAIN UNANSWERED

The video illustrates allegations that first surfaced in a probable cause affidavit unsealed after Kohberger’s arrest — which revealed that a neighbor’s camera picked up sounds of a struggle followed by a dog’s barking.

Kohberger has confessed to the murders of Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.

WATCH: Idaho student murders surveillance video released

All but Kernodle are believed to have been asleep at the start of the murders, carried out with a Ka-Bar knife after a masked Kohberger crept into the house around 4 a.m. on Nov. 13, 2022.

While the murderous struggle is hard to hear in the video, the barking continued for several minutes and is unmistakable.

INSIDE THE HORROR: IDAHO FOUR CRIME SCENE PHOTOS REVEAL BLOODY AFTERMATH OF ATTACK

Madison Mogen, top left, smiles on the shoulders of her best friend, Kaylee Goncalves, as they pose with Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and two other housemates in Goncalves’ final Instagram post, shared the day before the four students were stabbed to death. (@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)

The killer, a former criminology Ph.D. student at the neighboring Washington State University, pleaded guilty in July, weeks before the case would have gone to trial.

He could have faced the death penalty if convicted by a jury.

A still image from surveillance video recorded by a camera at 1112 King Road, near the murders of four University of Idaho students in November 2022. The recording shows killer Bryan Kohberger’s car circling the neighborhood before picking up sounds of a struggle. In the aftermath, he floors it away from the crime scene. (Moscow Police Department)

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Instead, Kohberger is serving four consecutive life sentences without parole, plus another 10 years. He waived his right to appeal and to seek a future sentence reduction.