Author's Note: I am going with the idea that family members who are in the service are able to wear the uniform as are retired servicemen in accordance with the rules and regulations regarding wear of the military uniform. I presume that retrieval of family servicemen remains from JPAC falls under the same purview as "funeral".

CO's Office, Naval Strike Air Warfare Centre, Fallon, NV

Uncle Jeff's jaw gaped as his eyes nearly bugged out of his head in surprise. The self-satisfaction in Harm's face was apparent as he watched SMSGT Jeff Nakamura's face adjust to just how high-ranking his nephew was – the changing expressions on SMSGT Nakamura's face showed how deeply it had sunk in. Equally surprising were the expressions warring on the admiral's face: hurt, anger, inquisitive curiosity…all warred with the want of family ties restored.

"My subordinate tells me that you retired a Senior Master Sergeant in the Air Force." Animal inquired, his eyes not moving off his uncle's. Harm and Meg could feel the tension in the room.

"I see you're a rear-admiral upper half, sir." SMSGT Nakamura stated, tensing himself as he also felt the tension emanating from the rear admiral in front of him. "I retired a member of the United States Air Force Security Forces, sir." Pride dictated that he stand up for his branch of service. There was always a Navy/Marines versus other branch of service rivalry and considering that Jeff had served in the Air Force and his nephew was Navy, this was a interfamily rivalry as well.

"That's correct, Senior Master Sergeant." Animal refrained from stating his estranged uncle's name further and stuck to his rank. "You also have another family member in this room."

Jeff looked around at the two other people in the room. All he saw was Commander Rabb and a blonde navy lieutenant commander. Neither of which he considered the possibility of anybody related to him. "Sir?" he asked confused.

"If you look closely at the blonde lieutenant commander's nametag…" Animal prompted, satisfied that he could give his uncle the shock of his life; giving him permission to stare at his wife.

"Lieutenant Commander Meg Nakamura?" His uncle intoned quietly and he looked up with a questioning glance at his nephew. "Sir?"

"Senior Master Sergeant Nakamura, meet Lieutenant Commander Megan Nakamura, my wife. And just so that you know that everything is on the up and up…Meg works at the base Judge Advocate General. She reports to the Judge Advocate General in DC; not to me." Animal stated answering his uncle's unspoken question about military regs and spouses in the same branch of service and chain of command. "I see we have a lot to talk about, Sergeant Nakamura."

"Absolutely, sir." His uncle said; the nervousness in his voice coming from years of dealing with senior officers and the shock in his voice apparent as the realization that his nephew and his nephew's wife were two of those senior officers took hold. Senior officers had the ability to hold the future of enlisted men in their hands – it could translate into good things like a promotion or very bad things like a post to a desolate location depending on how well the enlisted performed. The two stars on his nephew's flight-suit were as high a rank as he had seen during the course of his service. Only two more stars remained to be earned by his nephew before he'd hit the top of his navy career. As a former serviceman, Jeff Nakamura knew that he had to tread lightly as Under Article 2 of the UCMJ, the Army maintains court-martial jurisdiction over retired personnel. UCMJ, Article 2(a)(4) stated "Retired members of a regular component of the Armed Forces who are entitled to pay are subject to the provisions of the UCMJ . . . and may be tried by court-martial for violations of the UCMJ that occurred while they were on active duty or while in a retired status." And considering that he assumed that the admiral's wife knew about the tension between Animal's father and Jeff, taking a chance that she wouldn't hesitate to bring him up on charges of "Disrespecting a Senior Officer" was a gambling move that he wouldn't even attempt.

"You are aware of the fact that JPAC has notified me that Uncle Makoto's remains have been found." Animal stated, measuring his uncle's face for any reaction. "I've asserted right to find out and have undertaken the necessary DNA testing to make sure that it is verified." Animal's tone was final and brooked no dissent and as his nephew was a two-star admiral, Jeff was well aware that his nephew's word carried more weight than his senior master sergeant's rockers.

"Yes, sir" SMSGT Nakamura replied. "The JPAC officer mentioned that to me when she came out."

"Good. I don't know exactly how we're going to do this, but I believe the first part of this has to be bringing his remains back home from Hawaii." Animal stated, looking over at his wife. "I've bought tickets for my wife and myself. My question to you is, are you coming with us?" he looked over at Jeff. It was a blunt question but considering the fact that Uncle Jeff had cut and run after Viet Nam, barely maintaining any sort of contact with his family, it was one that needed to be asked.

"Yes, sir" Jeff Nakamura replied. "I'd like nothing more than to help in bringing Mak home."

"Harm, I need you and Mac there as unbiased witnesses to the handover of the remains." Animal stated looking over at Harm. "I'll supply the transport there; see me for the airline tickets. Meg can't be an unbiased witness as she's a family member." Harm looked honored to be a part of the proceedings of repatriating an American service-member. "I'll ask LCDR Nakamura to make another booking with the airline on our flight and we'll notify you as to the flight number and departure airport; Sergeant, I am presuming that the flight will originate from Sacramento to Honolulu."

"Absolutely, sir." Harm replied. "Meg? Will you let Mac know?" he asked Animal's wife.

Meg nodded her assent. With Jamie they would end up having to get three tickets and practically have a row to themselves for the car-seat that would fly with them. Flying a dependent around from California to Hawaii was going to be a trip in itself.

"Then once we have Mak's body…" All instinctively knew that Animal was talking about his deceased Marine uncle this time around. "…we need to look at where he is going to be buried." The decision was left undecided and the question hung in the air. The servicemen honorably discharged from military service were accorded burial rights in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. So were their spouses. Mak's father Osamu was buried in Arlington as was his wife, Sarah in a plot beside him. He gave a hard look at his uncle. "There are other things we need to discuss but that's best saved for another time."

CO's Office; Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command; Joint Base Hickam, Honolulu Hawaii

"Sir, Rear Admiral Nakamura has sent a facsimile stating that he and his family will be coming down to pick up the remains of LCPL Makoto Nakamura, USMC." Jayne Weyman, one of the civilian forensics team analysts stated as she handed him the fax.

"Jayne, I want all the remains identified on his body and ready for hand-over forty-eight hours before his arrival. You do not keep a Medal of Honor recipient waiting." Major General Jonathan McTavish looked over at the civilian analyst with a dire look of warning. "He states in here that he's bringing LCPL Nakamura's brother with him as well. We're lucky, this has been one of the most straight-forward cases that we've had to deal with. A lot of the others have had complications whether it be verifying the remains or matching them to living relatives and yet others remain unclaimed. I want this hand-over to go smoothly." The general looked over his itinerary. "Contact my Chief Master Sergeant on the way out, I want her to clear my schedule. If Rear Admiral Nakamura is showing up, I need to be there."

"Yes, sir." Jayne stated cheerfully as she headed out the door. Not more than five minutes after she departed; a knock on the door heralded the arrival of his Chief Master Sergeant. CMSGT Sheryl Lopez smiled. "Sir. I've cleared your schedule for the arrival time and a block of two hours on either side, sir."

"Thank you, Chief Master Sergeant Lopez." The general knew his Chief Master Sergeant was on the ball and she had anticipated his request.

Sacramento International Airport, Sacramento, CA; November 1, 1999 0800hrs.

Jeff Nakamura was awaiting his newly expanded family. He had notified Animal that his wife would be coming along on the trip as well and his nephew had willingly sprung for the ticket considering that his nephew was earning over triple Jeff's salary a month. Janice Okamoto Nakamura was Nikkei (Japanese-American). She was born in Hawaii and would be going them. Their children were in university and were not joining them on the trip to Hawaii but would be joining them at the funeral of their uncle. Jeff was in his Air Force Uniform, along with his ruptured duck above his ribbons and devices, the USAF MP shield underneath his ribbons on his uniform.

"Jeff!" Meg's shout was audible over the bustle of the crowd in the crowded Sacramento International Airport departures lobby. Jeff saw his nephew's blond haired wife stand out over the crowd with her 5'11" height. Taller than his nephew by 3 inches, she towered over Jeff who was only 5'6". She was holding her newborn infant, in her arms. Meg was dressed in service blues uniform as she had exhausted her six weeks maternity leave several months earlier. Trailing behind followed by a luggage handler was his nephew, also in service blues. His nephew cut a solid figure as he approached, the large two inch gold stripe and accompanying ½ inch stripe above it on his sleeves followed by an upside down line star with the top-most point of the star facing the stripes. His nephew, being an aviator, certainly had a larger rack of ribbons than Jeff did. But the top-most ribbon that his nephew had earned caused his jaw to drop. Considering the only time that he had seen his nephew, his nephew was in his flight suit; he hadn't realized the extent of the decorations that his nephew had earned during the course of his career.

And Jeff hadn't forgotten the unofficial respect accorded those who had earned that Medal. Snapping to attention, he saluted and said, "SIR!"

"As you were…Senior Master Sergeant." Animal replied as he took his uncle's salute and returned it.

"I'm sure there's a story behind that ribbon, sir." Jeff stated as he relaxed his posture.

"That there is…" Animal stated firmly with the impression that he would disclose that information, but this place wasn't the time or the place for it. Looking over to see Harm and Mac approaching, he grinned. "Ah, there are our two stragglers. Glad you two could join us." He grinned at the two late-comers.

"Sure wouldn't miss a trip to Hawaii all expenses paid." Mac replied, smirking at him. She was dressed in her Marine Service Class A Greens. "Seriously though; considering how many family members have sacrificed in Viet Nam, I wouldn't have missed this at all." She said looking at Animal sympathetically. "It's an honor, sir, to be able to accompany you as a witness."

The ticket counter looked over all their tickets and checked in baggage was tagged and sent down in the conveyer. The group headed from there to the waiting area after having their ticket stubs checked by security. It was at least an hour before the flight was announced and upon that call, there was a queue to get on the plane. "Sir…" a Hawaiian Airlines attendant attempted to get Animal's attention. "Sir? We are boarding military personnel and their families first. Welcome aboard, Admiral."

Animal nodded towards the attendant. "Yes?"

"Sir. Your flight seating has been changed to first class, sir, for your party; I believe there are five military personnel in total as well as one infant and a military spouse?" the attendant asked glancing over at the group of military officers. "Please step this way, sir."

The first class seating was towards the front of the aircraft and Animal, Meg, Jeff, Harm and Mac as well as Janice headed towards the front as directed by the flight attendant. Settling into their assigned seats in first-class, Animal looked out the window. Hawaiian Airlines used the B767-300ER on their Hawaii-Mainland USA flights and it was nice to have the First Class seats separated by a wall from the rest of the economy class seats. The entire group took up 7 of the eighteen first class seats with Animal having to have Meg sit with Jamie, their son.

It was a five and a half hour flight from Sacramento International to Honolulu; and they would be getting there just about 2:15PM Honolulu time.

Honolulu International Airport/Joint Base Pearl Harbor – Hickam; Honolulu, HI, 1415 hrs.

The 767-300ER chirped tires lightly on 08L and when its groundspeed was low enough turned off the runway onto the taxiway and headed to the gate. The debarkation was smooth and everyone was able to get off. Once again, first-class was let off first. And Animal and his party headed for the luggage claim. Standing around in uniforms created a bit of a stir as civilians ogled his traveling companions.

Meg cradled and soothed Jamie as he fussed quietly in her arms. His ears seemed a bit sore after the pressurization of the airliner cabin. He'd had his pacifier on the aircraft, but it still didn't do much to help with the stuffed ears.

They would take a taxi from the airport terminal to the JPAC offices. It was still up in the air as to whether they would head directly back with the remains or whether they would stay at least one night in Honolulu. But Animal could only take a few days of leave to deal with collecting Mak's remains. The CNO had agreed to one week, while Animal's XO at Fallon would help by taking command for the week that Animal was away.

The sooner that they were able to collect the remains and head back; the better. They would have to jockey the dates around so that they would all be able to get to the funeral. When their luggage was collected, Animal looked at the group. "So…are we flying back immediately on transport or are we staying the night and catching a military transport back to the mainland in the morning?" he asked

"Staying the night sounds good." Harm stated looking over at Mac who nodded. The five and a half hour trip was exhausting though Harm didn't do any of the flying.

"I don't think Jamie can tolerate another flight tonight." Meg replied. "I think we stay for the night."

"OK…we'll head to JPAC and get that dealt with, transport the body to the Pearl Morgue then find accommodations for the night."

"Food?" Meg said pointedly?

"That too." Animal replied as he looked over at his wife who smirked at him as if to say. You forgot, didn't you?

Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command; Joint Base Hickam, Honolulu Hawaii

The taxi turned onto Worchester Avenue and Animal could see the JPAC building; the taxi containing Harm and Mac followed close behind. They both came to a stop and the occupants of the taxi minus both drivers exited the vehicles walking across the street to the building's main entrance. Walking through the doors and smelling the antiseptic smell of the remains analyzing rooms wafting through the building brought a lot of emotion to Jeff. The antiseptics were used to prevent transference of DNA from one lot of remains to another so that the proper families got the proper remains.

"Rear Admiral Nakamura!" Major General Jonathan McTavish hailed him. "Thank you for dropping by, sir." Rendering the proper salute, he looked at the rest of the officers and one enlisted. "You are all here for LCPL Makoto Nakamura?" he asked. At the affirmative responses, he said. "Follow me."

When they got to the transfer box containing the remains of Jeff's brother and Animal's uncle, MGEN McTavish handed them the report on the remains citing that the remains had been securely handled and asides from the samples taken, the remains were relatively intact. With almost 31 years subject to the elements, the flesh had been stripped off the remains and all that remained were bones. The skeletal remains were what JPAC would be handing over in a proper casket draped with the American flag.

Animal nodded as he looked over the report then handed it over to Senior Master Sergeant Jeff Nakamura. The family was then ushered into a room and the remains were wheeled in, in a body bag. The family was able to view the remains for a short time, then the remains were placed back in the blanket, the blanket folded, and pinned, then placed back into the body bag and zipped up.

"Sir, we will be moving Lance Corporal Nakamura to another room, so please follow me." MGEN McTavish instructed. The gurney was moved from that room to another where a casket was waiting. Then a Navy Chief Petty Officer came into the room with a Marine Corps Lance Corporal's uniform as the blanket was removed from the body bag and placed in the casket. The chief laid the LCPL uniform over the blanket and Mak's rifle expert and pistol expert badges were pinned to the inside of the casket lining. As well as white gloves crossed as though the hands were folded inside them. The American flag was placed over the casket in stages as the bottom section of the casket was closed up. The flag was folded over neatly so that the top of the casket could be closed. The Navy Chief then closed the top section of the casket then the flag was unfolded to the top of the casket, with the field of stars resting over what would have been Lance Corporal Makoto Nakamura's left shoulder. Then JPAC's shippers prepped the coffin for transport in a cardboard shipping carton which on the side read Handle with Extreme Care.

Then MGEN McTavish asked about the eligibility of Mak to be interred at Arlington National Cemetery. The stringent eligibility requirements stated that only five medals or a POW status would ensure burial at Arlington: those five being 1) Medal of Honor, 2) Distinguished Service Cross (AF Cross or Navy Cross), 3) Distinguished Service Medal, 4) Silver Star, 5) Purple Heart. Mak would be buried at Arlington (agreed upon by both Jeff and Animal due to Mak having a Purple Heart. After the meeting, MGEN McTavish indicated that he would be there for the ceremonial hand-off of the remains to the family first thing in the morning.

The officers and Senior Master Sergeant and his wife arranged a hotel so that they could stay overnight and opted to eat at the hotel restaurant instead of going out and trying to find something in Honolulu. The tickets were one-way so they had to book tickets going the other way as military transport was unavailable. When they had finished eating they said their goodnights and went up to their different hotel-rooms.

Meg looked over at Animal as they turned in for the night. Jamie was in his little portable crib in the hotel room, covered with a light blanket. "So…was it a way of closure for you and your uncle?" she asked intently running her eyes across Animal's face for any signs of emotion.

"I don't know. I never really knew Uncle Mak very well." Animal stated looking up at the ceiling. "He died before I really knew he was there. All I know is that it offered Uncle Jeff some closure and that we take Mak home tomorrow." Meg nodded at that. "Let's get some sleep, it's going to be another day of traveling tomorrow." They settled into each others arms and fell asleep.