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Vietnam War Hero Gets Dog Tags Back After 40 Years

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Talk to anyone who's been in the military, and you'll probably find out there's a certain emotional attachment to a dog tag.

Now more than 30 dog tags that were purchased in a public market in Vietnam have finally found their way home to their rightful owners.

CBS 2's Dorothy Tucker reports the last one was handed out Monday, in a moving ceremony in Chicago.

For the first time in 40 years, Specialist Gerald Trout held his dog tag. He'd lost it during the Vietnam War.

"I'm pleased to have them back," Trout said. "I don't know if I'll ever wear it again, but it's nice to have it back."

Martha Roskam, Congressman Peter Roskam's mother, found Trout's dog tag a few years ago in Saigon. She told a group of veterans how she was shopping at a street market and bought Trout's tag along with 36 others for 54 cents each.

"I knew they were important," she said.

Roskam and her husband have spent the last few years delivering the dog tags to grateful vets, like Trout.

Trout says he doesn't remember the last time he saw his tags, but he knows it had to be between May 10 and May 12, 1968. He was an ammunition carrier and when his company came under enemy fire, Trout risked his life to save his fellow soldiers and protect the ammunition.

"I stayed scared and kept thoughts of home," Trout said.

For that, Trout earned a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart and two other commendations.

Trout is on his way back home to Texas, with a bagful of awards he so rightly deserves.

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