Holger Sandmann
September 14th, 2009, 19:20
Hi guys,
this summer when I was back in Germany I went through some of my old stuff including a box of personal belongings from a cousin of my grandma who was a Stuka pilot and got killed in action. One odd item was a US WWII dog tag and I have no idea whether it was in his possession or just somehow ended up in the box that my grandmother (who has long passed away) received.
My question is what the right or respectful thing to do is here: should I make an effort to return the tags to his family or would you think that these items have no particular meaning 60+ years later? I checked the MIA list - http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/ - but his name wasn't listed. Similarly, a Google search of his name didn't bring up anything obvious.
Your input is appreciated.
Cheers, Holger
this summer when I was back in Germany I went through some of my old stuff including a box of personal belongings from a cousin of my grandma who was a Stuka pilot and got killed in action. One odd item was a US WWII dog tag and I have no idea whether it was in his possession or just somehow ended up in the box that my grandmother (who has long passed away) received.
My question is what the right or respectful thing to do is here: should I make an effort to return the tags to his family or would you think that these items have no particular meaning 60+ years later? I checked the MIA list - http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/ - but his name wasn't listed. Similarly, a Google search of his name didn't bring up anything obvious.
Your input is appreciated.
Cheers, Holger