Michigan Man's WWII Dog Tag Found In Alaska

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) - A man searching for sea glass along a western Alaska beach has discovered a Michigan soldier's World War II dog tag.

Mario Gandolfo said he found the dog tag in Nome, Alaska, on Nov. 4 and wanted to return the 70-year-old artifact to its original owner's family, WOOD-TV reported. The tag belonged to Earl L. Vogelar of Grand Rapids.

"I was hoping to get this to this man's family by Veterans Day, which is just around the corner," Gandolfo said. "I want to get this back to his immediate family - his cousin, his grandson, possibly his son, someone who is of his blood where this rightfully belongs."

Social media and the television station helped connected Gandolfo with Vogelar's grandson Dustin Vogelar. He said he never met his grandfather because of a family feud. Although he doesn't know how the dog tag got lost, Dustin Vogelar said he knows his grandfather was stationed in Alaska for a few years during the war, came home afterward and died in 1994.

"It would have been nice to meet him and see what we had in common," he said.

Dustin Vogelar said he is very grateful to have connected with Gandolfo over his grandfather.

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