SUGAR LAND, Texas – A Sugar Land man who lost his dog tags on a day he was badly injured 45 years ago will get them back this week.
The tags were found by an Australian man who was visiting Vietnam.
Lanny Martinson ordered the tags 45 years after he lost his original set, but three days after placing that order he got a phone call he was not expecting.
"I was wounded on June 4 and I got the call on June 6," Martinson said.
The dog tags had been found in Vietnam in 2011 by an Australian man visiting Khesan.
"My first reaction, take it home to Australia and try and find the guy who owned the dog tag or if he was not alive, try to find his family," said John Naismath.
Naismath said he was finally able to find Martinson after a trip to California, where he met a motorcycle shop owner with connections to veterans groups.
Now, Naismath and 200 other motorcycle riders are headed to Texas to return the tags to Martinson.
"All these people are coming all the way from California to meet me, someone they don't even know. It's pretty special," Martinson said.
Though the discovery of the tags has brought back memories from the past, it's also a reminder of the special connection shared between U.S. Marines.
Martinson will be reunited with his original dog tags on Saturday at a special event planned at Missouri City VFW post.