Being Blown Away by Return of Dog Tags and Class Rings

[dirtlooter]

The last six months or so have been very challenging but I have been very surprised at the results of several returns. We started getting more communications from the the first dog tag return to Percy's family. It appeared that as the holidays approached, more and more of the extended family began hearing of the return and contacted us with many thanks. Then, my Seiko watch battery died and so I had to go to a jewelry shop to get it replaced. The only shop in this town is the one where I had returned a class ring to earlier this summer. The battery was replaced at no cost as the owners were glad to somehow repay me. I have never charged anything for a return and have never expected anything but a smile and a picture. Then, the family of the second dog tag return came to life. The daughter of Orville Bailey that we had sent the tag to had been on vacation. She had been very unsure of us and I fully understand in this world of scams. She also wanted to know what it was that we were wanting of her in return for this tag. We sent her a picture of the tag and assured her that we just wanted to get it back to his descendants. So it had been sent to her and just before Christmas, we received these pics of Orville's uniform (with tag) and the newspaper clippings. I was pretty excited with these but then the day after Christmas, I received this box (in the shape of Idaho) that contained various candies (made in Idaho), Idaho honey and Idaho blueberry jam. Wow, totally unexpected! Then, a lot of excited Thanks from numerous family members as they found out about the return. The dog tag returns stirred up both patriotic and family ancestry pride excitement in both families. I never ever dreamed that through metal detecting my wife and I would affect so many people and so far from us. Returns? Well worth it in so many ways. You never know what a return can mean to a person or a family. I was happy to find out that both men had gone to war in North Africa in WWII and survived to come home. I was also glad that both men's families cherished the military background of both men. Pretty cool stuff. DL

 

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[Mackaydon]

dirtlooter,
I know exactly how you feel having returned two tags myself.
The excitement and emotion you experience of returning those tags to either the soldier or the appreciative heirs is greater than the emotion of having found the tag; at least that's what it was in my case.
Well done !!'
Don.....

 

[Kurios1]

That's just how it goes in those Hallmark movies. It couldn't happen to a nicer couple than you and your honey there DL. You had a pretty good year with that new permission and before long you were finding stuff you could ID for returns. Living by simple principals of doing what is right will open doors and move mountains sometimes. Returning a pair of brass railroad baggage tags to a surviving relative this year gained me a whole lot of farm land to hunt. It always pays to do the right thing. Well done and great story. Thanks for sharing.

 

[dirtlooter]

dirtlooter,
I know exactly how you feel having returned two tags myself.
The excitement and emotion you experience of returning those tags to either the soldier or the appreciative heirs is greater than the emotion of having found the tag; at least that's what it was in my case.
Well done !!'
Don.....

Thanks, to see the excitement in the emails of the relatives is exciting in itself. to see the pride grow in their messages as they began their own research on their father/grandfather or even great grandfather. it is awesome to hear that you have returned dog tags as well. This is a very personal return to these people, very cool no matter how you look at it. Jerry

 

[dirtlooter]

That's just how it goes in those Hallmark movies. It couldn't happen to a nicer couple than you and your honey there DL. You had a pretty good year with that new permission and before long you were finding stuff you could ID for returns. Living by simple principals of doing what is right will open doors and move mountains sometimes. Returning a pair of brass railroad baggage tags to a surviving relative this year gained me a whole lot of farm land to hunt. It always pays to do the right thing. Well done and great story. Thanks for sharing.

I am and have been very blessed no matter what. most of the time, we can make a difference in total strangers every day by simply lifting them up in encouragement. it usually only takes a minute or so and costs us very little and yet can change the outcome of their day. While I may be searching for hidden treasures in the ground, I have already found the ultimate treasure eternally. everything else is just a bonus. I hope that you are successful in your own return my friend. it is hard to describe the feeling of realizing what you have found much less being able to make a return. thank you very much for your very kind words. Jerry

 

[adirondackjim]

Now that's an awesome story...