A fallen hero from Lincoln is finally home more than 51 years after the enemy shot down his helicopter during the Vietnam War. His remains were just identified last year, and while his family is grateful, they are still left with many questions. Bringing honor to the fallen over half a century later at Eppley Airfield in Omaha, where the U.S. Army and a color guard welcomed back one of their own. Larry Zich was a Huey helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War, but his wife and his sister remember him as a jokester."He was a prankster, but never malicious. He was never mean, but he was a prankster. He had a great sense of humor," said Debbie Peters, who was the wife of Zich. Zich was co-flying a chopper on April 3, 1972, his birthday, when he and three other crewmen were shot down over South Vietnam. He just turned 24 and had only 45 days left on his tour. For his loved ones back home, it was hard to believe. His sister could not accept that he was gone. "I waited when they brought the POWs home because I just thought for sure he would be with them, but he wasn't," said Tina Mueller, the sister of Zich. It was a mystery. No crash site has ever been identified and the four crewmen seemingly disappeared. It was not until 16 years later, in 1988, when a packet of remains was turned over to the U.S. government. Most of them turned out to be bone fragments of Asian natives, except for a single tooth, which looked of European descent. Over 30 years later, in October 2022, that tooth was finally tied to Huey helicopter pilot Larry Zich."It's been a very emotional, hard day," Peters said. Now that he is home, Zich's family is planning a celebration of life next week in Lincoln. But the moments are bittersweet, in a story yet to be fully written. "I'm thankful that we have something, but it's not the rest of the story. There's still lots of questions," Peters and Mueller both said.