A Metal Detectorist Brings Happiness
“OMG, We Have Them”
This story came to me from an individual who befriended me when my TV series, “Exploring History’s Treasures” was televised.
One of the many blessings my series brought me was the wonderful amount of support and friendships from viewers. What also transpired from those friends were the many stories regarding their metal-detecting and treasure-hunting experiences. The following story is one such incident told to me by a man I will call Ben. Ben lives in the Midwest.
1951, Six Years After WWII
The home was built in 1951. Six years after the end of WWII. The house was built by a WWII returning veteran. He then married his childhood sweetheart.
While living in the home the veteran and his wife raised four children. Years later at the age of 91, the old vet, one of the few remaining heroes of the “greatest generation,” passed away. A year later his wife died. The home was sold, and three of the four now-grown children were living in different states. Ben knew the history of that home and the occupants because he had the opportunity to metal detect the expansive front and back yard after a new owner had purchased it.
Ben told me, “The home was one of those that seemed to call out to me every time I drove by. As if it was sending me subliminal messages, “Search me. There is something special within my boundaries.”
I agree with Ben. Often I have written about the need to pay attention to our God-given senses, our innate intuition when that feeling of “search me,” “research this,” or listen to what this person has to say” tugs at our heartstrings. For it is in those moments, that may lead you to treasures found.
Ben said that for years as he drove by the home, he was either too busy on his way somewhere or unable to stop and ask for permission to search the property. And then one day as Ben was driving by the property he saw the owner outdoors. He felt that this was the right time to ask for permission to metal detect the property.
Ben told me he had been using my approach on how to get permission from a stranger to metal detect the area around their home. (I will be writing an article soon about how I get permission to metal detect the properties of strangers)
With a “yes” secured, Ben went to the home a week later. He was not expecting to find much from a 1950s property. Maybe some silver quarters or dimes, which would be great to find. But as Ben swung his detector across the yard he continued to have that feeling that he was supposed to be there, searching. Every so often he would stop detecting, glance at the home, and ask, “Okay, what you got for me?”
Mercury Dimes and Wheat Pennies
Ben said he managed to find a few Mercury Dimes, a bunch of Wheat Pennies, and the assorted odds and ends of trash normally located around home properties. And then, as he swung his detector coil beneath an old maple tree behind the home, his detector gave a loud, strong signal.
Knowing his detector, and how it reacted to all kinds of metal, Ben knew he had an exciting find below his detector coil. With great anticipation, he dug down approximately three inches and that was when he noticed what he had found. Two GI dog tags, and the chain that held them together. He said to me, “For some people, those two dog tags are junk.” I answered that I agreed with his statement. Some people do not see the sacrifice that veterans give to protect our FREEDOM in America. For Ben and I, those two dog tags represented a powerful message. And that message was, that those important pieces of history are a reminder of what America was involved with and what it stood for. Those dog tags reminded us of what I was taught as a youngster in school about the sacrifices made with blood and lives to keep America FREE. But Ben was not finished with his story. He told me the dog tags he found were treasures of greater significance. Here’s what he said.
Ben showed the dog tags to the owner of the property. The names on the two tags were barely legible. They did not belong to anyone in the property owner's family. Ben asked if he could keep them, and that he wanted to see if he could locate the owner of the dog tags. The homeowner enthusiastically agreed and told Ben to keep him posted if he discovered the rightful owner of the tags.
After searching public records Ben discovered that the original homeowner had the same name that was on the dog tags. Ben searched for him and discovered he and his wife had passed away and that he had four siblings. After locating one of the siblings Ben called her and asked if she would meet with him. He told her he had something that belonged to her father and he wanted to give them to her. Because Ben was a stranger the woman was of course hesitant to meet with him. After some hesitation, she agreed to meet with Ben in a public place. She told him she would bring her husband with her.
As Ben told me what happened when meeting with the woman and her husband, he became very emotional. He told me they sat at a table across from each other. After introducing himself and explaining how he came across what he was about to show her, Ben handed the woman her father’s dog tags. The dog tags that, as she said afterward, “They always hung around my father’s neck.” As the veteran’s daughter grasped her father’s dog tags she began to shake. Tears streamed down her face. She clutched the tags and cried, her husband held her hand. And her first words were, “OMG Dad, we have them.”
She then reached across the table and with tears still streaming down her face she grabbed both of Ben’s hands, “Thank you so much. We knew he lost them. He talked about them all the time,” she said.
Ben told me, “Frank, often I think back to that time, and how the home called to me.”
“Yes Ben, I know that feeling well.”
