An incredible discovery is reuniting one Rhode Island family with a relative’s dog tags that had been lost for decades. 

The dog tags belonged to Jen Hockenhull’s grandfather, who served in the Navy during World War II. Decades after the war, a salvage dealer found the tags and posted a photo of them on Facebook.

Speaking with 7NEWS on Monday, Hockenhull said her family is excited about the recent discovery and excited to get the tags back. 

“Knowing my grandfather, he would sit down and just tell all kinds of stories,” Hockenhull said. “I used to love hearing him tell me stories about the war.”

For years, Hockenhull and her family had wondered what happened to the tags. Recently, one of Hockenhull’s high school friends saw the picture of dog tags on social media.

The tags had been found at a dump in Worcester and Hockenhull’s maiden name was on them.

“I looked at it and was like ‘Oh my goodness, that is a dog tag we’ve been looking for since World War II, literally,” she said.

“It’s pretty incredible, this is actually something I’ve asked my dad about for years — ‘Where are the dog tags?’” Hockenhull continued. 

Hockenhull said the family has service flags.

“But I’ve always wanted to see the tags, so it’s surreal, to be honest,” Hockenhull said.

Hockenhull’s father plans to pick up the dog tags on Tuesday. 

In the meantime, Hockenhull said she already has a plan to honor her grandfather’s heirloom.

“I’d like to make it into a necklace for my dad,” she said. “I’d like to get him a nice white gold chain and get the tag cleaned up a little more and have it made for him.”

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