Florence (South Carolina) resident Larry Morganti is an artist whose work is displayed at a vendor shop in Lake City called "The Vault." He was the crew chief on a C-123 cargo plane during the Vietnam War as part of the 311th Squadron of the Air Force from October 1967 to October 1968.Morganti would transport supplies to Marine camps and move wounded and deceased bodies. Throughout his journey, he'd make several stops, including stops in Da Nang and the airfield.
During a rocket attack, Morganti lost his dog tags and thinking little of it, went to his first sergeant for a new pair.
It hadn't really crossed his mind where the originals might be until a Swedish man named Kristoffer Hansen made contact with him. Hansen is a construction worker, who found one of the dog tags with a metal detector.Fortunately he found a Facebook post on the "The Vaults" website that displayed Morganti's work, and that's when he reached out to store manager Debrah Lane who was initially hesitant to respond to a stranger. When asked if she knew Morganti she replied "Yes," and her response was met with a lengthy message stating how Hansen had been looking for Morganti for two years.
That's when Lane knew there was truth in what Hansen said, leaving her anxious to share the incredible news with Morganti.
Hansen sent the dog tag in late April along with a letter to Morganti thanking him for his service.