Dog tags returned to Vietnam veteran August 28, 2013 The procession of dozens of bikers into the parking lot of VFW Post 4010 late Saturday morning heralded a homecoming 45 years in the making. Two years after it was found half-buried in the red dirt of Khe Sahn, Vietnam veteran Lanny Martinson was finally reunited with his U.S. Marine Corp dog tag, the culmination of an international search that stretched from America, Australia, Vietnam and back again. ‘Like wildfire’ Houston Community Newspapers initially covered the odyssey of Martinson, the retired Sugar Land resident from Minnesota, and his dog tag last month (“Vietnam veteran’s missing dog tag miraculously found, 45 years later,” July 4, 2013). During his second tour of duty with the 9th Marine Regiment in Khe Sahn – the site of one of the Vietnam War’s fiercest battles – a landmine cost the 23-year-old staff sergeant his right leg, and others their lives. His dog tag was lost sometime during the rush to evacuate him from the battlefield. After recuperating in a series of military hospitals, Martinson returned to America in 1968, where he embarked on a 30-year construction career in his native Minnesota after learning to walk with a prosthetic leg. He moved to Texas with his wife Delphine following his retirement, began devoting his time to artwork and wrote a manuscript based on his and other soldiers’ experiences in Vietnam. Now in the latter portion of his life, Martinson thought his time in Vietnam was firmly behind him. Two years ago, John Naismith, an Australian who was working as an English teacher in Vietnam at the time, was walking along what used to be the air strip where Martinson was evacuated in Khe Sahn, now the site of museum. As he made his way, a shiny object sticking half way out of the ground caught his eye. “So I picked it up and brushed it off, and it was some guy’s U.S. Marines dog tag,” Naismith said. “How it got there, Lanny and I don’t know.” After two years attempting to locate the dog tag’s owner through the American authorities, a career change brought Naismith to Los Angeles, where he left the dog tag with a veteran friend who owned a motorcycle shop. The motorcycle shop owner then put out the word to his fellow veterans. That’s when Tanna Toney-Ferris, a San Diego woman who has previously reunited lost dog tags with their owners, got on the case. “I was put into this journey by a friend who’s also a Vietnam veteran,” Toney-Ferris said. “Several people found Lanny, and I happened to be the one who posted the picture on at least 100 websites, so it kind of spread like wildfire from there.” Early last June, nearly 45 years to the day after being evacuated from Khe Sahn, Martinson got a call that he never expected to receive – his dog tag had been found. ‘Overwhelming in a good way’ Saturday morning’s event was attended by more than 100 people, including Missouri City officials, veterans members from across the region, roughly a dozen different veterans motorcycle clubs and Martinson’s friends and family. Toney-Ferris flew in from California earlier in the week; Naismith arrived from Australia earlier, riding with members of the Legacy Vets Motorcycle Club all the way from California to personally deliver to what he found of Martinson’s. As the event began, riders from the Patriot Guard formed a flag line of about 20, with Martinson in the center. When Martinson entered the circle of flag bearers, someone shouted, “Everyone give him a big welcome home!” inducing a huge cheer from the crowd. Members of the gathering went up individually to express their appreciation to Martinson, as some extremely tough-looking individuals became visibly choked up. “When you were in Vietnam I was a little boy in the village, looking at the heroes who tried to protect our village,” said Missouri City Councilmember Danny Ngyuen, who grew up in Vietnam during the war. “It’s my honor to join you to welcome you home.” Ngyuen then invited Martinson with him to lead the crowd in singing “God Bless America” – “I ought to get some kind of star for that,” Martinson quipped. “It’s very overwhelming – in a good way,” said Martinson’s daughter Bobbi Martinson, who flew in from Minneapolis the previous week. “There are no words, really. It’s very heart-touching.” ‘Recognized by your own’ After the crowd transitioned inside the VFW hall and the chaplain gave an opening prayer, Naismith recounted how the events leading up to the return of Martinson’s dog tag transpired, from the moment he discovered it to when he finally got in touch with its owner two years later. Toney-Ferris went up next, and said that Martinson, his family and Naismith had all become friends for life. Then Martinson took the microphone, as the audience cheered. “This whole thing has been just nuts. When I got the original call that somebody had found it, I wasn’t really sure how to handle it. I didn’t know what to think. The old stuff starts coming back, the stuff you try and bury all the time. Fortunately, Delphine had a real good idea. She said, ‘go in the bedroom and shut the door.’ So I did that, and I went in and had a good cry, just thinking about my brothers and the whole thing in general ... It really means a lot to be recognized by your own.” Naismith then went back up to the front of the crowd with Martinson, finally returning what he found. “I really don’t know what to say,” Martinson said. “This is fantastic; I haven’t seen this in 45 years.” The men hugged and the audience cheered as cameras flashed. Missouri City Mayor Owen Allen came up as the day’s final speaker. After giving a synopsis of Martinson’s story, he made a mayoral proclamation. “I do hereby publically recognize and extend to Lanny our heartfelt appreciation for his distinguished service to our country, and proclaim today, August 24, as Lanny Martinson day in Missour, City, Texas.” The announcement was as unexpected as it was appreciated. The crowd erupted in applause. A hill in Khe Sahn His dog tag was far from the only item Martinson got from the event. In a twist befitting the saga, along with his own memento of his service, other veterans from California gave Martinson many of their cherished mementos too; one gave him his father’s World War II-era challenge coins; Toney-Ferris gave him some of the ashes of a highly-decorated Vietnam sniper who had recently passed away; many gave him medals. One more thing will bring Martinson full circle – Ngyuen is going to raise money for Martinson to return to Vietnam next summer, where he’ll meet Naismith at Da Nang before going to the DMZ. Martinson has plans to write a book about all the events of how he lost the dog tag and had it returned almost half a century later. Though he hasn’t even started it, many people have expressed an acute interest. Martinson said he won’t be able to finish the story until he returns to the place where it began. Martinson will have to get permission from the Vietnamese government to visit the hill at Khe Sahn where his dog tag was initially lost – a lot of unexploded ordinances from the war continue to make the area a possible safety hazard. He said he doesn’t mind. “If they need to escort me up there that’s fine,” Martinson said. “But then I’d like them just to back off and leave me alone. Let me sit there for a while to just think about things.”
Posted on: Sat, 31 Aug 2013 04:05:31 +0000
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