"He's a Marine forever. He was a hero of the Corps," said Klimp, who is the commanding general of the Marine recruiting command in Washington, D.C.
Seminole: May 4th, 1998 - More than half a century after a marine's dog tag was lost on the beaches of Guadalcanal, it is returned.
| It was a ceremony that made U.S. Marines cry. A dog tag lost by then 17 year-old marine PFC Harold F. Dangler on the beaches of Guadalcanal in 1943 was returned to him Monday by Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Jack W. Klimp in a presentation at Seminole City Hall.
"He's a Marine forever. He was a hero of the Corps," said Klimp, who is the commanding general of the Marine recruiting command in Washington, D.C. |
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It's a great honor just to have the general down here." Dangler said. "I can't fathom it."
Guadalcanal is the largest of the Solomon Islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, was the site of brutal fighting in World War II.
Dangler said he lost his dog tag as he was coming off a landing craft in 1943. He forgot all about it until he received a call from Gunnery Sgt. Cynthia Atwood during the first week of December 1997.
William Jack, a soldier with the 34th Battalion of the 3rd New Zealand Division, found the tag in the water during a cleanup operation after the battle on the beach at Guadalcanal accourding to his son Denny Jack of Orewa, New Zealand.
"I just came back from the war and endeavored to follow up with the Dangler family," Jack said. "He assumed Dangler had died because of the carnage."
William Jack died in 1970, but recently the tag surfaced in an old jewelry box. "Last year I was looking through some family heirlooms and I found it and decided to contact the American embassy," Denny Jack said.
After being passed on to various military agencies, Jack contacted the Marine Corps. They checked through their records and found out he was alive, he said. "It was quite a delightful surprise. It was 50-odd years ago. I didn't expect he would be alive after all those years."
Atwood was given the chore of finding Dangler. She first contacted the National Personal Records Center in St. Louis and then, with a current address, found him through a telephone listing.
About 70 fellow veterans and friends came to city hall Monday, May 8th,1998 to see Dangler honored. Watching also were his three children and his wife, Doris.
The dog tag was handed to Dangler in a presentation box, along with the Eagle, Globe and Anchor of the Marine and Service ribbons for victory in World War II and the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign. Marines of various ages rubbed at their eyes as Gen. Klimp passed the box to him.
The tags are used to identify Marines who are injured or killed. With about 1,600 Americans killed on Guadalcanal and another 4,200 wounded, it is easy to see why the elder Jack assumed Dangler had been killed.
Dangler protested when Gen. Klimp called him a hero, saying he was merely a Marine doing his duty. "I still can't believe a Major General came and spent all this time on a PFC, Dangler said. I am truly grateful."
After the war, Dangler remained active in service organizations such as the Disabled American Veterans and 5 year Commander of Louis C. Goi (USMC) chapter #93 in Seminole, FL. and the Past "Service Officer" of the Morris F. Dixon, Jr. Detachment of the Marine Corps League (Clearwater, FL.)
He also founded B.A.B.I., Busting Attitude Barriers thru Involvement.- a Private organization. A site dedicated to promote Unity between able and disabled, and an Interaction of both for a "Better America."
REMEMBER AMERICA'S VETERANS! (Able and Disabled)
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