Long-Lost Dog Tags Returned To Conn. Veteran

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) -- A Connecticut veteran has gotten his U.S. Marines dog tags back, almost 50 years after losing them on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques.

Richard Ward, who's now a University of New Haven dean, lost them during military exercises in spring 1961 while training in support of the Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba.

Relatives of Ann Tuttle of Oklahoma recently found the tags after spotting them tangled in a fallen palm tree's roots while snorkeling near Vieques. She mentioned the find after striking up a conversation with a retired military officer, Doug Mitchell, while the two were on Vieques.

Mitchell volunteered to search for Ward, and eventually put him in touch with Tuttle.

Ward says he's shocked and grateful. He said the tags' return gave him a chance to reminisce about his military service.

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