[Jen]

What a terrific idea for a thread. Of course I still have my Air Force dog tags! What veteran doesn't? They are in a safe place so I will never lose them and someday my kids or future grandkids will have them as a memento of mom/grandma's military service.

I found this web site - www. vietnamdogtags.com - and think everyone will enjoy it.

Excerpts from: Vietnam, A Personal Journey

My name is Stacey. I am 33 years old and have been a Firefighter with a West Coast City for the past 4 years; a paramedic for 8. I have had the fortunate opportunity of coming into contact with many Veterans, most now on the brink of retirement. I feel extremely honored to have heard some of your courageous and painful stories...

It is in part, for this reason that I found myself wanting to do "something" for the Veterans of Vietnam. To, somehow, help this forgotten generation of a very volatile time...

Eventually, the time and opportunity presented itself to travel to Vietnam...

One day soon after I arrived, I went to the Independence Palace (the place where the first Communist tanks rushed the iron gates back in 1975)...

Downstairs, in the palace, I saw for the first time, Military Identification Tags ..."Dog Tags." I stood there for a long time just looking at them disconcertingly. Then, with my hands, I motioned to the Vietnamese girls behind the counter. They didn't speak an ounce of english, but understood that I was asking to look at the tags in the case. I wondered if they were real?...

I thought they must be real, for the country was not saturated with tourism at all. English speaking people were hard to come by, and I didn't feel there were enough tourists for the tags, specifically, to be mass produced in an effort to generate revenue. The tags looked old, tattered, soiled, bent and rusted. There were not many of them. I bought them all.

It was difficult not to buy the other remnants... As I walked outside, my steps slowed. I took one of the tags out and looked at it closely as the traffic whizzed by. Suddenly, it dawned on me...maybe THIS was what I could do for the Veterans. Something so small and yet it was "something." That day, I decided to search for as many tags as I could find in the weeks to come. Even if they were not genuine, the optimist in me said, there had to be at least one tag that was real. And, if I could find that ONE family and return the tag, somehow everything up to this point would be worth it...

---

Please read the whole story - it's definitely worth it - and look at the lists of names of veterans whose dog tags Stacey has collected that are waiting to be returned to the veteran or family member.

[Johnny Gage]

Jen,
I firmly believe that this story deserves its own thread.

I'm asking that you please post this as a separate story so we can all bump it, and get maximum exposure for it.

I for one will be emailing this off to some people I know who are, or know Vietnam Vets.

[MoJo2001]

Thank you so much for sharing this information. I went over there and I don't know anyone of those people. However, I think the entire experience to look at the person's name and to thank God that they fought for our country was the least I could do. If you haven't had a chance. Please visit. For some darn reason, I just began crying. It's such an emotional experience. God bless each and every one of those people whose names were found and whose dog tags need to be found by loved ones. God bless each and every family member that has kept hope alive all these years.

[larryjohnson]

Not a ping list,FRiends,just feeble memory. Snowbuns,thanks for the thread and the USO homeawayfromhome. Jen,I read the linked dog tag collection by this wonderful gal. I read jus yesterday on a D-Day page that one tag was buried with the KIA for later reinternment.My WWII child hood friend,P1C Christian F. Birx I learned yesterday was buried in Baltimore National Cemetary in Sep 1949 ,5 years after KIA...I have one tag left and it hangs on a chain over my jungle fatigue shirt in this den... One day I ran out the MACV gate by mistake into Siagon with only shoes,running shorts and my dogtag on a chain around my waist. I circled the base,ran in the 7th AF gate,stopped to show my tag and was waved thru(no salute).

[Victoria Delsoul]

Excellent post, Jen. Thanks so much.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Excellent find, Jen. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Stacey's efforts to return dog tags to their families.

[SpookBrat]

OMGosh Jen. That story is incredible. I don't know what to say. Bless her heart. It makes me want to go over and buy the rest. Wanna go? This should be a thread.