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a World War II The soldier’s dog tag was finally returned to his family, 80 years after his death.
Technical Sergeant Joseph L. Gray was one of 31 US military personnel who tragically died on April 23, 1945.
According to the news agency SWNS, the plane did not reach its destination after taking off from the British air base during World War II.
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The tragedy remains the most deadly aviation disaster in the island’s history, the same sources point out.
In 2010, a local metal detector discovered a grey dog ​​tag. The detective handed it over Manx Aviation and Merital Museumit was kept safe for years.
The dog tag of Technical Sergeant Joseph L. Gray depicted here was returned to his family 80 years after his death. The American was one of 31 US military personnel who tragically died on April 23, 1945. The dog tag was discovered about 15 years ago and has been caring for the museum ever since. (SWNS)
Tag returns are now possible only in the case of Donald Madar. That great-uncle He also died from the crash and made a personal pilgrimage from his home in Pennsylvania to where he crashed in April this year.
Madhar has been connected to Gray’s family since 2020 when Gray’s great, Claire Quinn, contacted him through a Facebook group about the crash.
“Something sticks out in the name.”
“When I visited and had a tag, something sticks out about the name, reminding me of a post she wrote five years ago,” recalled Madhar. “She asked about Joseph and told me everything about him in the posts she uploaded,” he added, referring to Claire Quinn.
“Then I reached out to her, and that was just how we came up with a plan to bring it home through her sister,” Madhar said.
While on the Isle of Man, Madar met Museum HistorianIver Ramsden handed the tag along with a personal letter to deliver it to Gray’s family.
The final handoff took place on May 7th in Madar I drove for 40 minutes At Brickville House Restaurant in Pennsylvania.
Technical Sergeant Joseph L. Gray is shown on the right. While on the Isle of Man, Donald Madar met with museum historian Iver Ramsden (both depicted on the left, along with Ramsden on the left) about a personal letter to deliver to Memon and Gray’s family. (SWNS)
“We could see emotions plunging into her – her eyes began to tear,” Madard said of the moment she handed the tag over to Bridget Daly, Claire Quinn’s sister.
“I thought it was very important to her family, so they Part of their historyMadhar said.
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“It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining,” he recalled.
“We weren’t sharing images of each other while we were talking via email, so we were blind,” Madhar said.
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“We sat down and talked about events, history and of course Joseph,” he said.
“It’s great to be able to get to know him through her story.”
American Serviceman Gray was traveling from Essex to Northern Ireland at the B-17 Flytress Fortress Bomber when it crashed on April 23, 1945. (SWNS)
“I built up the moment. I only revealed the letter when I thought it was the right time – it was a great moment,” Madhar said.
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Madhar said he was “thank you” to the Manx Aviation and Military Museum for helping him make the move.
