Another Dog Tag Reunion News Article

Wanted to share with you yet another public story about the dog tag "reunions" that are resulting from research work being done by myself and daughter Cindy.

TAG TEAM EFFORT

Phil Grafton displays his dog tags lost 38 years ago in Vietnam. They were returned Christmas Eve. He was serving in the central highlands area of Vietnam when they were lost.

When Phil Grafton received a letter in the mail from an organization called Tours of Peace (TOP) Vietnam Veterans telling him they had found his military dog tag in Vietnam and asking for verfication, he thought it was a scam.

“It asked for my social and we didn’t have social on our dog tags back then,” said Grafton. His wife, Lynn, called the number of the organization, called TOP Vietnam Veterans, and the president, Jess DeVaney, called back and read Grafton the service number off of the dog tag. It was his.

“That’s a one in a million thing,” said Grafton. “I was in the central highlands in mountainous terrain — I don’t know how in the world they ever found it.” Grafton said the chains that held the dog tags corroded from sweat, and he, like many other soldiers, had resorted to stringing them on a boot string or whatever else was available.

“I have no idea where I was when I lost them,” he said. “I had them taped together so they wouldn’t make noise.”

TOP is a non-profit organization that runs tours and other programs intended to help veterans and families heal from their Vietnam War experience. One of these programs is the “Personal Effects Program” which works to recover personal effects left in Vietnam after the war and returns them to veterans and surviving family members as a way to honor the veteran’s service.

DeVaney said they have collected nearly 1,100 dog tags during their tours of Vietnam, and they have been successful in returning many of them to the veterans and families to which they belong. Volunteers use every available resource to find the families and then they send out a letter to establish contact and verify if the link is correct.

“We often have the phone number as well, but we always opt for the letter,” said DeVaney. “Some people won’t call back for months, and it’s probably for emotional reasons as they think about their history.”

DeVaney said receiving the tags or other recovered items stirs up a lot of tragic stories but it always turns out to be a good thing and shows up for the families of veterans or the veterans themselves at just the right time.

“This is a way we can really honor their service and sacrifice,” said DeVaney. “It also allows us to do something for the surviving families of causalities and give back something to them.”

Grafton’s dog tags arrived on Christmas Eve, beautifully displayed in a dark velvet blue box. The sight of the rusted tag nestled neatly against velvet impacted both Graftons. “Thought it was neat it was found after 38 years, and that I got it on Christmas Eve was great,” said Grafton. “I felt proud — it was something I earned and it’s good to get it back.”

Grafton said seeing the tag brought back a lot of memories and reminded him he was lucky to have made it back alive. He was a sergeant with the 4th Infantry Division and said his first six months there was spent on patrol and doing search and destroy missions. “It was a profound deal,” said Grafton. “It took a lot of used to getting back.”

One of the hardest things about returning after the war was the animosity from the American public. Grafton remembered being bused off the plane at night so they wouldn’t be shot at or targeted by angry citizens. “I just couldn’t get over him getting the tag back and being honored and appreciated for his sacrifices,” said Lynn.

“There wasn’t a lot of recognition for Vietnam vets,” said DeVaney. The Web site www.topvietnamveterans.org is flooded with stories from families and veterans who were incredibly touched by honor showed to them by the act of kindness. “I’m really appreciative,” said Grafton. “I was laughing the other day and I said ‘I wish they’d find my mind because I lost that over there too.’”

Published on January 30, 2006 in the Toccoca Georgia newspaper