Found WW2 USA Soldier ID Tag Elmer E. Sheriff

Malcolm A. sent this photo of an American dog tag he found in the United Kingdom.

Hi I am a metal detectorist from the UK. Today whilst out searching I found an American dog tag from the World war II. I would love to re unite it with his family if there are any dependants alive. The name on the tag is Elmer E Sheriff. His next of kind was A J Sheriff. The address was 606 Main St. Bellwood. PA. The service number is 0-1104394. Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you. PS I've found out that he died on the 5th November 1976 age 70 in Wickenburg Arianna.  He was married to Virginia Louise Pemberton  in Wickenburg Arizona. 

Lorine's Research: Friends, an Elmer E. Sheriff enlisting in WW2  can be seen online on the National Archives. His service number is 20323529

Fold3 shows an Elmer E. Sheriff in the Vietnam War with service number shown 0-1004394 (out by one digit).

The 1940 census for Bellwood, Blair Pennsylvania shows a 33 year old Elmer son of A.J. Sheriff (sames as next of kin on dog tag) and Edna. Veteran Compensation Files dated June 1950 show Elmer as born Feb. 3, 1906 in Bellwood and serving in the National Guard.

 

My brief research seems to indicate that Elmer was an only child and had no children of his own. His wife was married three times according to a memorial on Find A Grave. 

Can any of my wonderful readers find a living descendant so Malcolm can send the dog tag home?





 

Happy Ending for Rescued Dog Tag Case!

I received this email earlier this month about a very happy ending for the search for family of James J. Bell and of Idaho, and his rescued dog tag.

Dear Lorine,

Thank you so much for helping me connect with Mick, the gentleman who found my father's dog tag. He sent the tag, along with a compass, wings and maps of the Seething Airfield to me in care of my son who resides in Manchester, England. 

As it turned out, my daughter and I were planning a visit to my son this July, so we were all able to open Mick's package together.

I don’t know who was the most excited to see what Mick had sent me, my children or grandchildren. My 10-year old granddaughter Mariam had studied WWII quite extensively at her school and acted in a play about the Blitz. When she was studying, she had taken a copy picture of my father and his crew to show her classmates. My grandson, Adam was full of questions that you can imagine any 9-year old boy would want to know.

Everyone wanted to hold the dog tag. How amazing to be touching something that my father wore during those dangerous missions. It is hard to believe that out of all the dog tags that must be lost out there Mick would find my dad's.
Along with the dog tag, Mick sent a compass he found at the airfield and a set of pilot wings. When we examined the compass, my granddaughter exclaimed, “It’s stuck. That must be the direction it was pointing when it was lost.” When the children realized that it was lost almost 75 years ago, they were blown away. It is impossible to know who lost the compass and the wings. We can only hope that they survived the war and went on to happy lives. All the items will be kept together and passed on to my son and grandchildren.

My son and I spent quite a long time going over the maps. They must have been top secret when they were created in 1944. It is incredible to think that they were done with such precision in the time before computers. Drawing maps by hand is probably becoming a lost art.

I’ll be visiting my brother soon and will be surprising him with what Mick found. I’m going to start by having him read the post on Olive Tree.

I’m hoping that sometime in the future my husband and I along with all the family can meet Mick and go with him to the Seething field. We all want to see where he found the dog tag and get a feel for the place that was such a significant part of my father’s life.

Please thank everyone involved in this search. My father and I were very close. There are some people we lose in life that we wish we could have even five minutes more with. He is one of those people for me. Finding the dog tag was almost like getting those five minutes back.
All the best,
Catherine (Kit) Bell


P.S. This is a photo of my father that was taken when he completed his flight training. He gave it to his sister Betty.

FOUND WW2 Dog Tag James J. Bell of Idaho

Mick B. wrote to Olive Tree Genealogy with this request to help return a WW2 dog tag to its owner or descendants:

Found at Seething Airfield England a dog tag marked James J Bell

Number 0-742831  T4243.

It would be great to return it to the family - is this something you could help with.

As my readers can see from the image on the left, the dog tag contains more clues. The name Emma E. Bell is there, as is a location of Harrison, Idaho

Hopefully some of my wonderful readers will jump in to help Mick find James, Emma, or descendants.

Lorine's Research

I found information showing James was a pilot and a 2nd Lieutenant during WW2. Source http://www.americanairmuseum.com/person/109318

There is also a pdf file which indicates 2nd Lieutenant James J. Bell was the pilot of REPLACEMENT CREW #21 - Aircraft #41-28595 in the 713th BOMBARDMENT SQUADRON ordered to England.

This photo is of James and his crew in front of their airplane. According to the names on the verso (back) of the photo, James is the third man from the left in the front row.

Photo: The James Bell crew, from the 2^nd Air Division Digital Archive http://www.2ndair.org.uk/digitalarchive, catalogue reference MC 371/349, USF PH 7/1. Published on Olive Tree Genealogy blog with permission of 2nd Air Division Memorial Library

If you choose the third photo at this photo link you will see another great image of James. He is the third man from the left in the front row.

James' obituary was found online:

OBITUARIES DR. JAMES J. BELL

Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) - Saturday, November 8, 2003

A memorial service will be at 2 p.m., Monday, Nov. 10, 2003, in Sunnyside Little Chapel of the Chimes for Dr. James J. Bell, who died Nov. 5 at age 82.

Dr. Bell was born Jan. 16, 1921, in Spokane. He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II and graduated from the University of Oregon Dental School. He was a dentist who lived in the Portland area most of his life and practiced in Lake Oswego. In 1948, he married Euretta "Peggy" Field.

Survivors include his wife; daughter, Kit; son, Jeff; and four grandchildren.

Remembrances to Friends of Tryon Creek State Park.

Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) - Saturday, November 8, 2003

Oregonian, The () , obit for OBITUARIES DR. JAMES J. BELL, GenealogyBank.com (https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/obituaries/obit/10064B9D95E0558F-10064B9D95E0558F : accessed 28 March 2018)

Case #25: Send Theodore G. Harding's Dog Tags Home

Nancy B. wrote to Olive Tree Genealogy:

HELP ME FIND THIS SAILOR! I found this vintage dog tag 2 years ago (shoved into a heating duct) while renovating our 70-year old house. Out of respect, I just wedged it back in. However the more I think about it, the more I wonder if he is still alive, if he had any children, and how this might be a sentimental treasure. I DID find that a "Ted Harding" lived in this house in the past and that he would now be in his 80's.

The dog tag reads

Harding, Theodore G. 
259 05 79 AB
USN  P

WW2 Dog Tag Lost & Found, Returned to Widow

A few days ago a journalist contacted me about a story he was writing for the Indianapolis Star. It's an interesting story about a lost and found WW2 dog tag which eventually was reunited with the soldier's widow. 

The story went online yesterday at World War II dog tag, lost in France, makes its way to GI's widow decades later 

I'm pleased to say I was quoted and there is a link back to my Lost & Found Dog Tags section of this blog. I'm hoping more folks will contact me for help in finding family members of a found ID tag. It's an amazing feeling to know that a dog tag went home to family.

Earl G. Gregory's WW2 Navy ID Tags Need to Go Home (Case #24)

Sue wrote to Olive Tree Genealogy with a request for help sending a WW2 Navy ID Tag back to family

I would like to find a home for the attached dog tag.  My father ran a wrecker service in DeKalb, Illinois and found this in a car many years ago.  It is for Earl George Gregory.

After receiving Sue's email I did some research. The first thing I noticed was that this was a Navy ID Tag (USN on the tag)

A search on Ancestry.com found this record for Earl:

Earl George Gregory
Service Info.: CWT US NAVY WORLD WAR II
Birth Date:18 Dec 1916
Death Date:11 Jun 1990
Cemetery:Thomason Cemetery
Cemetery Address:Main St Wayne City, IL 62895

Find-A-Grave shows his wife as Anna, buried with him.

If you can help find Earl's family, we can add this to our solved cases with a happy ending. There is probably a family member who would treasure this item, let's help find Earl's family and send it home.  

Update Case #23 US Army WW2 Leroy Tillery

Olive Tree Genealogy received a request for help finding family of Leroy Tillery whose US WWII ID Tag (Dog Tag) on the estate at Dorford Hall, Near Nantwich, Cheshire England. The finder of the Dog Tag and the Secretary of the Crewe & Nantwich Metal Detecting Society are hopeful my amazing readers will be able to find Leroy's descendants or family members. 

1953 Rocky Mountain Evening Telegram courtesy D. Bailey

Here is the information I found for Leroy in NARA's Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938 - 1946 (Enlistment Records):

Leroy Tillery, Army Serial Number 34669274, lived in Nash County North Carolina and enlisted at Ft. Bragg on 30 November 1945. His year of birth was 1924. He was an African American and his marital status was given as "single with dependants"

It has been a challenge to sort out the military files found on Ancestry.com for men of the same name. One was from a 1941 Draft Registration for Leroy Tilleroy born Scotland Neck, North Carolina July 5, 1923 and one from a 1942 Draft Registration for a Leroy Tillery born Scotland Neck, North Carolina July 25, 1924. Both these records provided the same residence address and name of a person who would always know how to reach them - a Mrs. Ethel Harris. So it was clear this was the same individual, but was he "our" Leroy of the lost dog tag?

As well there was some confusion over Leroy's dog tag which shows that he had his Tetanus shot in 1943. But his NARA record indicates he enlisted November 1945. With the help of Jennifer Holik who is my go-to person for American WW2 expertise, and her friend Norm Richards who conducts research for individuals at the NPRC (National Personnel Records Center), we were able to determine that Leroy Tillery actually enlisted twice - the first time in March 1943, the second in November 1945. This was a very important fact that I needed to ascertain which Leroy Tillery was the right one.

With that information I quickly found the final piece of the puzzle in Ancestry.com online database U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010

Leroy Tillery, whose Dog Tag was found in England was born 25 July 1924 and died 11 September 1985 

Since I had already done quite a bit of research on the different Leroy Tillery males, I knew that the Leroy born July 25, 1924 was the son of Rosa Tillery. That allowed me to find the family in the 1930 census for Palmyra, Halifax, North Carolina. I knew from two records sent to me from reader Donna Bailey that Leroy had been married to a woman named Dorothy and divorced from her in 1973. 

Donna also found the birth of a daughter in 1949. I will not provide her name here as she may very well be living but if anyone would like to help find her or her descendants (Leroy's grandchildren) please write to me privately at olivetreegenealogy AT gmail DOT com (replacing AT and DOT with the appropriate characters) and I will give you her name.

Last night I continued researching and found Leroy's death certificate on FamilySearch.org. From information on the certificate I was able to find that Leroy married again to Gilda Delight Hines and had a son in 1982. Since Gilda was obviously much younger than Leroy it is possible that she is still living and can be found.

I am happy to provide what I found on the families to any reader who would like to do more research for contact information on Leroy's descendants. I believe we can send this dog tag home this month if we keep up the search.

Can We Send Leroy Tillery's US WWII Dog Tag Home? (Case #23)

Olive Tree Genealogy received a request for help finding family of Leroy Tillery whose US WWII ID Tag (Dog Tag) on the estate at Dorford Hall, Near Nantwich, Cheshire England. The finder of the Dog Tag and the Secretary of the Crewe & Nantwich Metal Detecting Society are hopeful my amazing readers will be able to find Leroy's descendants or family members. 

Mr. Bradley, Membership Secretary informs me that his research indicates that Dorfold Hall was used as a WWII US Army camp to house the 158th Liaison Squadron(camp capacity 170 personnel) in the 1940's. He requests our help to help send Leroy's Dog Tag home. 

After receiving the email, I searched NARA's Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938 - 1946 (Enlistment Records) using the serial number 34669274 on the Dog Tag. Here is the information found for Leroy:


Leroy Tillery, Army Serial Number 34669274, lived in Nash County North Carolina and enlisted at Ft. Bragg on 30 November 1945. His year of birth was 1924. He was an African American and his marital status was given as "single with dependants"

If you would like to help send Leroy Tillery's Dog Tag home, please leave your findings in the comment section of this blog post unless it is about living individuals. For information concerning living people, please write to me privately at olivetreegenealogy AT gmail DOT com (replacing AT and DOT with the appropriate characters) 
 

Great News! J. L. McFarland (Case #21) Dog Tag - Family Found

Two days ago I posted about the dog tag of J. L. McFarland. I am really pleased to say that with the help of one of my amazing readers G. Johns, we have found this soldier's nephew. Here are some details for those interested:

J. L. was born Junior Lee McFarland

US MILITARY GRAVE SITES shows his death:

MCFARLAND, JUNIOR LEE 
CPL   US ARMY AIR FORCES
WORLD WAR II
DATE OF BIRTH: 06/17/1927
DATE OF DEATH: 09/23/2009
BURIED AT: UNION CEMETERY
HWY 857 BASKIN, LA 71219

U.S. Second Draft Registration Cards show him living in  Baskin, Louisiana. He registered in Franklin Parish, Winnsboro Louisiana.

His serial number from this source is the same as the found dog tag. (See image on right)

The name Aline McFarland was given as someone who would always know his mailing address.

A search of the 1940 census for Franklin Louisiana showed 12  year old Junior Lee McFarland with his parents Abe and Alene [sic], and siblings. Searching his siblings led to a nephew.

Thank you to all who contributed with research and ideas for tracking down the owner of this dog tag.

J. L.McFarland WW2 Dog Tag Found - Let's Return it to Family (Case #21)

David Kirkpatrick from Redlands, CA found a dog tag inside an old cabinet he purchased.

 J.L. McFarland's dog tag:

"I recently acquired an old File Cabinet from the Redlands High School in California.  The school is located near the old Norton Air Force base (San Bernardino, CA) and several members of the Air Force stationed at the base lived in Redlands.  When I Iooked at the back of the cabinet, it was marked with Property of Air Force, Department of the US Army.

While Cleaning the file cabinet I found a WW2 era dog tag that I would like to return to the family if I can find them.  I tried the NARA records, but the SN came back with no records so I fear it was destroyed in the 1973 fire.

J L McFarland
38479621  T43   A

(religion was marked as P for Protestant)

According to the second digit of his serial number "8", J. L. McFarland  enlisted in one of these states:  NM, TX, AR, LA or OK

If you can help find this soldier or his family, please leave a comment on this blog post. You may post about possible living individuals but in that case I will copy any private information to my file on J. L. McFarland instead of making it public. You can also email me at olivetreegenealogy AT gmail DOT com.

I know my amazing readers can do this!

Update June 29th: This soldier's name is Junior Lee McFarland and he passed away in 2009. Thanks to an amazing reader, we have his nephew's name and contact information. 

Lost & Found Case #19: U.S. Army Dog Tag Found in England

Buddy 7111. Message Center. APO 874. US Army

 Claire sends photos of this American Dog Tag. Her grandfather found it in or near Whittington Barracks, Lichfield, England. 

With only one name (Buddy) it seems like a rather unusual soldier's dog tag to me. I'm wondering if the U.S. Army used dogs and issued tags for them. 

BUDDY
7111
MESSAGE CENTER
A.P.O. 874  U.S. ARMY  

Hopefully one of Olive Tree Genealogy's fabulous readers will know something about this I.D. tag! UPDATE: I just found reference to A.P.O. 874:

 APO 874 was located at Whittington Barracks, Lichfield, England during February, 1944 to May, 1944. This Army Post Office serviced the units assembled in the Lichfield area of England for the invasion of France, which started on June 6, 1941 [http://en.allexperts.com/q/Military-History-669/WW-II-Replacement-Co.htm#b]

We have five unsolved cases of soldiers' dog tags for anyone wanting to put on their sleuthing hat! 

The open cases are:

#18 T. W. Kelly

#16 George Coleman

#15 Lester Lorfing 

#11 John Thomas Dryborough

#6 George H. Stevens

Case #18: T. Kelly WW1 American Soldier's Dog Tag Rescued

Joey wrote to Olive Tree Genealogy asking for help with a WW1 dog tag he found in Wheaton Missouri.

Joey stated that

On one  side the inscription reads ORL then what could be an F or an E then a T. KELLY under that there is a 116. 

On the reverse its just numbers 14472*0 the star is unreadable

So we know that the soldier's name was T. Kelly, his rank was ORL (I have not yet found what that represents) and his unit was the 116. The number on the reverse is his longer personal military number.

My husband and I think that could be a stamp or insignia between ORL and T. Kelly  and not a letter. We also think it is an American soldier's dog tag.

But just to cover all bases, I had a look in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) online database because it is searchable by the soldier's number but there is no T. Kelly with a number starting with 14472. I then searched U.K. WW1 records on Ancestry.com because they are also searchable by soldier number but that was a miss.

Unfortunately the American WW1 soldier draft records on Ancestry.com are not searchable by the soldier's number. I did find a Jonathan Ernest Kelly living in Wheaton Missouri at the time of his enlistment but could not spot a T. Kelly.

So we need my wonderful readers to pitch in and help find the soldier who lost this dog tag. You've solved 13 cases of the 17 posted previous to T. Kelly so I have no doubts you can work your genealogy sleuthing magic again!

Please either post your findings here as a comment or send them to me privately at olivetreegenealogy AT gmail DOT com  Remember to not put any information about living individuals in your comments, any contact addresses or phone numbers for descendants of T. Kelly should be sent in private email.


 

Another Happy Ending! Grandson of WW1 Soldier found so Found Dog Tags Can Go Home

Update to Case #17 Harold Western CEF WW1 Dog Tags Found in France. Thanks to the generous efforts of my readers and in particular Bruce G., this case has been solved and a great deal of information found about Harold. Bruce was able to find a nephew of Harold Western's who in turn gave us the name and contact information of Harold's grandson who lives right here in Ontario.

Coincidentally I had found reference to Harold (and one of my Peer relatives!) in the Guelph Mercury, along with a photo which you can see on the left. Harold was one of the enthusiasts in the 1910 Thanksgiving Day Road Races. He was an early member of the Thanksgiving Day Road Racers Assocation.

Luck was with me as I also found the obituary of Harold's son Bill.

Obit: WESTERN, William Harold Of Port Dover on Friday, August 12, 2005 at Norfolk General Hospital in his 74th year. Beloved husband of [names of wife and child removed for privacy reasons]. Lovingly remembered by Bill's cousins, [wife's] family and friends. Predeceased by his daughter Wendy and his parents Harold and Dorothea. Bill was a Founding Member of Ontario Rodeo Association, Founding Member of the Western Horse Association of Ontario, Charter Member of the Ontario Quarter Horse Association, Alumni of OAC Class of '53, University of Guelph, and a Member of both Grace United Church and the church choir. Visitation for Mr. Western will be at THOMPSON WATERS FUNERAL HOME, [rest of obit edited]. Published in the Ottawa Citizen on 8/15/2005

Following are some of the genealogical details Bruce uncovered in his research on the family: 

Harold married Dorothea Coreen Caroth (?) between 1926 and 1935.
Between 1935 and 1949 they lived at 158 Neeve Street in Guelph
Harold worked as a Weaver until he retired between 1962 and 1963
Harold and Dorthea lived at 164 King Street West in Guelph between 1953
and 1974.

They had two children; William, who died about 2007 and Jacqueline Elizabeth who
died 29 Mar 1935 at Guelph.

Harold was gassed during the war but recovered.  He worked as a Chemist in
a Carpet Mill in Guelph but usually reported his occupation as weaver,
likely as he came from a long line of weavers. He was very involved in
youth Soccer and was the chief of the Ontario Soccer Association and still
refereed into his senior years.

Bruce also sent the earlier research he did on Harold's ancestors so we can fill in many details. I've passed all the information on to Michel who is the man who found Harold Western's Dog ID tags in France.

Another happy ending!

Case # 17: Harold Western CEF WW1 Dog Tags Found in France

Michel, who lives in France, wrote to Olive Tree Genealogy about a WW1 soldier's dog tag he found at Eecke. It is near the France-Belgium border.

With the Number 402989 seen on the ID tag, Michel found the attestation papers for Harold Western. He was in 10th Bn. of the CEF (Canadian Expeditionary Force).

From his attestation papers online on Ancestry.com and Library and Archives Canada, we know that Harold was born 12 June 1893 in Yorkshire England. He was living in Guelph, Wellington County Ontario with his father William Western.

Harold enlisted in March 1915 in Guelph.

Michel would like our help in finding out what happened to Harold and did he have descendants or other family.

Can you help find Harold? Of our previous 16 cases of Lost and Found Soldier's dog tags in both USA and Canada we have solved 12 and all dog tags have gone home to family!

Please take a peek at our four cases that  are still open and hopeful of being solved with soldiers' dog tags sent home.

Soldier's Case #5: 3 years later we have a happy ending!

STULL.

T. H.
340585
TYPE -B-
T. 12/44
USMC

Another happy ending thanks to the hard work of my readers! Two years ago we made contact with Thomas H. Stull's nephew but sometimes events move slowly. Contact was lost, then regained, and so on. But last week Craig was finally able to return the dog tags to the family.

Case #5. T. H. Stull  Marine Corps WW2 CASE SOLVED Dec. 2012 It took 2 years but we did it! Contact has been made with Thomas Stull's nephew James. See Another Happy Ending!

I think this very kind note received a few days ago says it all.

Lorine - just a short follow-up note to tell you that the dog-tags for Tom Stull were delivered successfully.   This has been a long and interesting 3 year effort leading to numerous dead-ends.  We'd all but given up but, thankfully, discovered your web site and you were able to track down family members who are thrilled to have the memento.  Thank you for all you do.  It is often the "little things that count."  Fond regards - Craig

Another Happy Ending!

Great news everyone. We have another happy ending story to an American WW2 soldier's dog tag.  Case #5 T. H. Stull is officially solved! It took TWO YEARS but we did it!

Thomas H. Stull's nephew James has been found and contacted. Here is part of James' email to Olive Tree Genealogy:

T. H. Stull was my mothers younger brother and died about forty five years ago as the result of being hit by a car in Glendale, CA (Los Angeles County).  He had no children.  My sisters and I would like to have the dog tags to keep with the family bible, and some other items of Stull family memorabilia.

I've sent James' contact information to Craig, the man who found the Dog Tag. And so thanks to Olive Tree Genealogy blog amazing readers and their detective genealogy skills, we have a happy ending just in time for Christmas!

Success! WW 1 Watch Stolen from Family 30 Years Ago Returned!

Great news - another happy ending to a search for a WW1 soldier's descendants.

The original story of a watch found by a young boy over 30 years ago is here  Chad found this watch in Michigan and wrote to Olive Tree Genealogy to ask for help finding the soldier R H Smedley's descendants so he could return the watch to the family.

With the wonderful sleuthing skills of several of my readers, the Smedley family was found. R. H. and his son are deceased but his daughter-in-law Ann and two grandsons, Ron and Jim were found.

We made contact with the family and Chad arranged to meet them personally to return the watch. The family very kindly agreed to take photographs for me to share with my readers.

The photo on the right shows Ann holding the watch which was stolen so many years ago and then found by Chad.  Her son Ron (R. H. Smedley's grandson) is in the photo along with Chad who found the watch.

Here is Chad's email about the reunion of the Smedley watch with Ronald Smedley's daughter-in-law and grandsons.

...... We met today and I passed the watch back to Ann after it had been stolen from their home some 30 yrs old. It winds up that I went to the same high school as her sons so we lived about 1.5 miles apart. Ann was gracious enough to share with me some information about RH Smedleys service, showed me a couple of pictures and showed me some of his service medals. We had a very good visit and I am just very glad that it is back with Ann and her family. Thank you very very much for your help on this and also please thank the other kind ladies that also helped. This reunion would not have been possible without everyone's hard work. Thank you again.

 This photo shows Ann and her son Jim (R. H. Smedley's grandson) with Chad and the WW1 watch.

Update on Case #14 WW1 Soldier's Watch - Descendants Found!

Another happy ending! I am very pleased to let readers know that we have found the daughter-in-law and two grandsons of Ronald H. Smedley.

Ronald's watch which was given to him by the citizens of his home town for his service in WW1 was found by Chad. Chad contacted Olive Tree Genealogy for help finding Ronald's descendants so he could return the watch. The original post for Case #14 "WW1 Soldier's Pocket Watch Found in Michigan!" is here.

Ronald's grandsons and their mom have all posted comments on the original post with the story of the watch (see below).

It's great to hear from Ronald Smedley's family (Ann, Ronald and James) but please contact me directly. I will put you in touch with Chad, the finder of the watch.

           olivetreegenealogy AT gmail DOT com

Replace AT and DOT with the appropriate symbols.

Here's what Ronald's family had to say:

james h smedley said...

hi the watch in the photo looks like the one stolden from my parents house 30 some your ago . his name was ronald herbert smedley , my name is james herbert and my brother name is ronald j . my father was herbert james , my mother sent the link to the sight ( ann smedley )she contacted someone at the sight . she has all the imformation on him, if that is the watch that was taken , we thought we'd never see it again . it would really nice to know who found it and held on to it so long and was nice enough to turn it in to you
thanks
james h smedley

Ann Smedley said...

Ronald Herbert Smedley was my father in law,his son my husband Herbert Jamed Smedley passed away 3 yrs ago.This wathch was taken from our house in Troy 30 yrs ago.We have to sons James Herbert and Ronald both with here Grandfathers names.Would to have this watch back for our sons.Would like to thank Chad for keeping it safe for all these yrs.Would like to know how to get the watch back.Thanks so much never thought I would see the watch again.Ann Smedley

Ronald J Smedley said...

Hello both my brother (Jim H Smedley) and my mom( Ann Smedley) have already left a comment so basically I wanted to reconfirm what they both said. This watch was taken from our home while we were on vacation and thought that it was lost forever. i fondly remember looking at it in its case when i was young. unfortunately my grandfather passed away before i was born so i have no personal memories of him other than pictures and few items my parents had of his( the watch being one of them). it is amazing that after all these years it has resurfaced! i just wish that my father was still with us to enjoy the discovery of his father's long lost watch. i want to put out a huge thank you to the person that found it and wanted to find the proper owner and would love to meet them to give them a personal thanks.
Ron Smedley

 

Case No. 16: George Coleman Dog Tags Need to Go Home

A. J. asked for help returning a found WW2 Dog Tag. Here is his email to Olive Tree Genealogy:

Hi Lorine from a very wet Isle of Anglesey in North Wales UK
My father who was a cinema manager in Amlwch Anglesey found two dog tags which I have in my possession and would be grateful if you could repatriate.
Details on the tags are
GEORGE COLEMAN
34245523 T42-43 0
and a small p in the bottom right hand side of the tag

Hopefully my readers will be able to help A.J.  and send George Coleman's Dog Tags home

Please note that Case #15 was sent to me as a comment on blog posts. That doesn't work well. I need to have a name and email so I can forward private details that are found by my generous readers.  It is also best to send me a photo or scan of the dog tag. So please be sure to send your emails to me directly at olivetreegenealogyATgmail.com

Please see our other Soldiers cases if you want to help send a dog tag home to the family

Case No. 15: Lester Lorfing of Texas, WW2 Dog Tag

Olive Tree Genealogy received another request for help finding descendants of a WW2 soldier.  One of the  missions of Olive Tree Genealogy is to reunite found items such as  Dog ID Tags, Medals, etc of soldiers with their descendants. To date my readers have worked on many cases and been successful in reuniting several soldiers' dog id tags with family members.


Here is the email for Case No. 15, Lester A. Lorfing

My husband found a US dog tag in our garden. We live on Lake Garda Italy. I gave the dog tag to my brother, who lives in the UK. The name is Lester A Lorfing and the serial no. is 38250774 T43 A P
I believe he died in 1999 in Texas, Wharton County.

My wonderful readers have a terrific track record in solving these lost and found Dog ID Tags and I'm hoping we can all jump in to this case and send Lester's Dog Tag home.

Please post your findings and ideas in the comment section of this blog post but remember if you have private information on living individuals (such as phone numbers or addresses) to send it privately to me at olivetreegenealogyATgmail.com

I did a bit of research already and found the marriage record of Lester and Inez Hoegemeyer in Texas in 1946 which led me to Inez Lorfing's online obituary. There is a great deal of information in this which may help with finding their sons.

We could also trace Lester's siblings and their children in case the sons cannot be found or have no interest in Lester's WW2 Dog tags.