Finally Found the Family of the 2nd WWII Dog Tags, to be returned very soon!!!!!

[dirtlooter]

Several months ago, on our new permission, My wife and I found the dog tags of two service men as well as numerous other items. We found two collar disks, one Combat Engineers and one Artillery. We also found fired 50 cal brass, 30-06 brass and loaded 30 carbine rounds. I also found a silver RIFLE marksmanship badge. The set of two tags belonged to Percy Scharch of Tilghman Maryland and we were able to locate family and return his tags to them. We had been unable to locate the relatives of the lone dog tag that belonged to a Orval Bailey of Idaho Falls Idaho. Then a few days ago, a visiting daughter who was checking out our pile of finds from this last year, noticed the dog tag and got really excited when we told her about the other set being returned. She said that she was certain that she could find his family, using a different approach than we had tried. Sure enough, she managed to find out quite a bit about Mr. Bailey and his family. So then it was a matter of trying to contact a descendant. I don't do the facebook thing but my wife finally got a response from Percy's fourth daughter, a Kay Tinkle this morning. So, some time this week, the tag will be sent to the family. As a DAV myself, this is a very awesome experience. Percy belonged to the 313th Combat Engineers Division and so I would guess that Orval did as well since the tags were found within 50 yards of each other. These items were found less that a quarter of a mile from the railroad and I believe that the men were either in route to training in either Texas or Louisiana or in process of returning from training. These tags represent but a tiny moment of these two men as they both served in the great war of WWII. I was glad to see that both men managed to survive the war and live to be old. These tags for me have been about the coolest finds because of being able to return them to family. Pretty exciting stuff. DL

 

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[RustyGold]

Awesome story of return dirtlooter. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Ammoman]

Very cool and congratulations on your return. I once found a tag in a fox hole on the island of Guam and tried for years to find the a relative or even a distant relative of the marine who lost it. Unfortunately the young man died of his wounds and it don't look like he has any living relatives. to make things worse...i have since lost the tag myself. All i have left is a picture of the tag.

 

[dirtlooter]

Very cool and congratulations on your return. I once found a tag in a fox hole on the island of Guam and tried for years to find the a relative or even a distant relative of the marine who lost it. Unfortunately the young man died of his wounds and it don't look like he has any living relatives. to make things worse...i have since lost the tag myself. All i have left is a picture of the tag.

What I really like is when it really sinks in what is being returned, the family's excitement shoots up. At first, they thought that they were only getting a picture of the dog tag but now they understand that it is being sent to them. Now the questions begin pouring in and so I had to basically send the same info as in my previous threads. The daughter has his old uniform and is very excited to be getting this dog tag plus the info that we were able to give her. You can tell how excited they are by the length of the replies as well as the number of them. They are blown away by the whole thing, several of the grandsons have served in the military as well. She asked if she could share it with others. There are 23 grandchildren plus great grandchildren, and she is still contacting us. Pretty cool, gotta love it. DL

 

[Tom_in_CA]

dirt-looter: Excellent story. Another "sherlock holmes who-dunnit mystery" solved by an md'r. It is md'rs like you, and stories like this, that are an asset to our hobby. Thanx for sharing !

 

[against the wind]

I agree whole heartedly with Tom in CA.
This recovery and return adventure puts our hobby in a "Positive Light"
Thanks for sharing it with us.

 

[Mackaydon]

Honorable Mention recommendation for 'dirtlooters' post.
Don......

 

[scruggs]

Nice job and hope the return goes well

 

[mindcrime1988]

Love seeing/hearing about stories such as this. Many kudos to you and your family for taking the time to search out the person and/or relatives. I'm sure they are excited to get the dog tags back but it'll hit home at the same time.

 

[dirtlooter]

Returns of any kind are opportunities for us to make somebodies day. Most people are totally not expecting to ever see the lost item ever again. For people like us that manage to recover something returnable and then manage to locate the owners or family, it can be pretty darn awesome. In some cases like the tags, there is the possibility of giving a decedent a little bit of lost heritage of a deceased relative. For some, this may open the door for digging deeper into their family's history. In this case, one should be proud of a relative's service to his or her country. I just hope to encourage others to make returns if possible. You know that they will be quick to share their experience of how a MD found and returned the item. might even open a door for you.

 

[ATPRoDon]

I’m like you, if I found any US dog tag I would be so excited to return it to the family. I did actually find the dog tags of a WWII Italian soldier while living in Egypt and visiting the WWII battle of El Alamein and by going through the Italian Embassy in Washington DC they found a living relative (a daughter) and returned it to her. What most people don’t realize is that ALL US dog tags are property of the US government and you are not to contact the person or family and you are required to turn them in. I know it sounds like I’m a party pooper but that’s actually the law.

 

[dirtlooter]

I’m like you, if I found any US dog tag I would be so excited to return it to the family. I did actually find the dog tags of a WWII Italian soldier while living in Egypt and visiting the WWII battle of El Alamein and by going through the Italian Embassy in Washington DC they found a living relative (a daughter) and returned it to her. What most people don’t realize is that ALL US dog tags are property of the US government and you are not to contact the person or family and you are required to turn them in. I know it sounds like I’m a party pooper but that’s actually the law.

Actually I started off first with our local VA office and nothing was said about that.

 

[WannaDig3687]

This is a very good metal detecting experience. I'm glad you and your wife were successful in the return. Thanks for sharing it with us. Honorable mention for sure.

 

[Mzjavert]

Thank you for bringing joy to these families.

 

[ATPRoDon]

Per US law an individual who founds a dog tags should not attempt to locate or contact the military service member or his family. Instead, it is the citizen's responsibility to return the dog tags to the government. The Department of Defense has the necessary resources to return the dog tags to the sailor or soldier or protect and preserve them in a safe location, according to The American War Library.
Mail the dog tags in an envelope addressed to: Secretary of Defense, Room 3E880, The Pentagon, Washington, D.C., 20301. The mailing individual must include a description of the location and the circumstances in which the dog tags were found. The individual also must include his personal contact information in case the Department of Defense investigators decide to contact him.

 

[CASPER-2]

 

[digger460]

Per US law an individual who founds a dog tags should not attempt to locate or contact the military service member or his family. Instead, it is the citizen's responsibility to return the dog tags to the government. The Department of Defense has the necessary resources to return the dog tags to the sailor or soldier or protect and preserve them in a safe location, according to The American War Library.
Mail the dog tags in an envelope addressed to: Secretary of Defense, Room 3E880, The Pentagon, Washington, D.C., 20301. The mailing individual must include a description of the location and the circumstances in which the dog tags were found. The individual also must include his personal contact information in case the Department of Defense investigators decide to contact him.

Overruled. Honorable mention! Going back where it belongs.

 

[flinger]

Very awesome. The power of Facebook. I don't have a Facebook account as of now but my kids can do this kind of stuff for me. Congratulations on getting them back to the family, that's just awesome.

 

[dirtlooter]

I have been very busy with a lot of things but I meant to keep some of you updated on the return. While it may be the incorrect way to do it, the remaining children of said Vet are elder citizens themselves and might not be around in time for our govt to get around to getting the tag(s) to them. The wheels tend to turn very slowly when it comes to our govt. But, I had no prior knowledge that there were said laws concerning the tags, so oh well, the family's involved were and are ecstatic to get them. Mr Bailey's daughter is so excited that she is writing her own write up about it and plans to send us a copy. She had been gone on vacation and just got back today and quickly contacted us with her excitement. I can fully understand if tags from a deceased and missing soldier were found, the govt would have to be notified. These tags were the original issued tags, lost before actually going overseas and replaced. At any point, I am still very glad to have found and restored them to their families who were all very excited to get something that belonged to a loved one. In this time where so many seem to be all about disrespecting our flag in so many ways, as a DAV myself, I feel good about being helpful to some very Patriotic family's. DL

 

[ATPRoDon]

Here is what your missing. If a families loved one was killed in combat or missing in action and their dog tags or remains were found I’d rather have an official US government military member return them to the family, rather then some Joe Blow walking up to my door with a dog tag. It can be a very emotional episode that they know how to handle not you or I. The US military has two special units at the Pentagon who do nothing but research MIA sites around the world identifying remains, dogtags and returning them to the families. It is a 24hr a day job and I actually was privy to a recent scene on a flight to Littlerock, Arkansas where a guy in full Army dress got on the airplane and sat next to me. The pilot then made an announcement that the plane was carrying the body of Korean War veteran whose remains were just found after over 65yrs missing and to please be respectful when we landed and let the Army officer off first. As I was talking to the guy I found out the remains were his wife’s uncle. When the plane landed the family and a military unit met the casket as we all watched and many on the airplane were crying. And yes the family members were elderly but it brought closure to them. So while no doubt you did a good deed and I’m not taking that away, in the future please let the military take care of there own. Signed a DAV myself.