PLYMOUTH, PA – On September 1st, 2012 USMC Vietnam Veteran, Bernie Mihenski, was presented with a piece of his past – from nearly a half a century ago – his dog tag.

Relics of a war, just small tabs of metal stamped with a soldier’s name, rank, serial number and other pertinent information. For collectors, the dog tags didn’t have much meaning, but for the veterans from the Vietnam War, the tags represent more than most of us can fathom.

We have worked to reunite the dog tags with their owners’ families since 2010. Several veterans’ organizations have helped with the project, but none so much as the Nam Knights of America MC – a Military and Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club with chapters nationwide.

Mihenski’s dog tag was among hundreds brought home in 1993 in Vietnam  by a retired Police Chief and Vietnam Veteran, who was there as logistics support coordinator for a group called Operation Smile.  In the streets outside his hotel, he met villagers who had what appeared to be old, rusty American dog tags. He  later (2010) gave them to us to locate and return the dog tags to the veterans

Bill “Pillow” Loh and Mike “Chainsaw” Bray, members of the Nam Knights of America MC from the Delaware Valley Chapter, set out on their motorcycles Saturday to make the trip to reunite Mihenski with his lost dog tag.

Fittingly, they met with Mihenski at the VFW Post 1425, in Plymouth, PA. There, Mihenski was presented with his dog tag and a Nam Knights Challenge Coin – his family and friends by his side. Mihenski then offered a short tour of Plymouth to Bray and Loh, where they visited the war memorials.

“This was one of the most gratifying experiences I have participated in,” recounted Bray after returning home.