WWII airman's lost dog tag finds its way home
Newburyport News
BY ANGELJEAN CHIARAMIDA STAFF WRITER
April 20, 2015
“I was hoping to find some military relics that might have been in the sand there,” Ladd said yesterday. “Then I found the dog tag.”
WWII airman's lost dog tag finds its way home
BRYAN EATON/Staff photoThe dog tag, lower left, of World War II Army Air Corps veteran William C. Benn was found at Salisbury Beach.
SALISBURY BEACH — A military dog tag may seem pretty commonplace, but when it belonged to a highly decorated WWII Army Air Corps veteran, finding one near the old gun batteries at Salisbury Beach makes it pretty special.
Yesterday, the half-disintegrated piece of military memorabilia that once hung around the neck of the late William Charles Benn was returned to his son, William Gordon Benn, thanks to the dedicated work of Purple Hearts Reunited and treasure hunter Bill Ladd.
“It’s pretty good work,” Benn said yesterday with a smile, holding the tag after listening to everything done to get it back to those to whom it means the most.
Ladd once read a Daily News story about the remnants of the gun batteries at Salisbury Beach, built to protect the area from German U-boats during World War II.
The story led the Rhode Island resident to travel to Salisbury Beach in mid-March with his new metal detector.
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