Woman buys WWII dog tags at garage sale, hoping to track down family

By: CNN

Posted: Dec 10, 2018 4:20 AM EST

A trip to a garage sale turned into a mission after a woman purchased a set of dog tags from World War II. Photo courtesy WNEM

By Brianna Owczarzak, Scott Wolchek

Michigan (WNEM) -- A trip to a garage sale turned into a mission after a woman purchased a set of dog tags from World War II.

“It’s part of somebody’s life right here that I’ve got on the table that they want back,” said Jan Parker.

Parker is determined to return the dog tags to their true owner.

“My dad was in World War II. If I could find somebody that had my dad’s dog tags and wanted to give them back, I’d be just thrilled to death. I want to make somebody happy because they don’t belong to me. They belong to the family,” Parker said.

Parker and her friend Jim Anderson discovered the dog tags belong to U.S. Army Private Henry Francis Long, of Beaverton. He served in WWII and died in the early 1970s.

“Found out what funeral home he was buried. His pallbearers. Right now, it’s just the process of tracking down family members,” Anderson said.

“I got on Ancestry.com, found out he had two sisters. One was local here in the Owosso area. I tried to contact the last known address and I got no response,” Parker said.

The pair are exercising all channels. They said they are working with the Gladwin County Clerk, Veterans Affairs and the funeral home Long’s services were held.

“This gentleman was a custodian at the Midland High School for 20 years,” Parker said.

The-CNN-Wire