Two veterans of two wars from two states plan to meet for the first time Feb. 18 at Veterans Hospital. Robert Johnson, a 55-year-old veteran of the Vietnam War from Centre, will walk away from meeting V.R. Roskam, a 75-year-old Korean War vet from Wheaton, Ill., with a dog tag he lost in combat more than 30 years ago.

The tag was among 37 Roskam and his wife Martha bought from a street vendor in Ho Chi Minh City during a visit in 2001. After buying the tags, the couple embarked on a quest to return them to veterans or their families. They hired a private investigator to help find the soldiers and they travel the country to return the tags, paying their own expenses. "It's what we're supposed to do," Martha Roskam said in a telephone interview. "We feel called to it," V.R. Roskam said.

Johnson, who describes himself as a private person, said he wasn't eager to have a reminder of his time in Vietnam. "It wasn't a popular war," he said. "There are people I worked with for 25 years who didn't know I was in Vietnam. I never talked to anyone about it because they wouldn't believe you anyway." V.R. Roskam said he thought Johnson, a "fine, slow-talking Southern gentleman," was worried that he might be a con artist.

A Department of Defense spokesman warns veterans to be leery of people proclaiming to have such tags, noting they are easy to fabricate and information about soldiers who served in that conflict is easy to obtain. In news interviews, veterans who received tags from the Roskams said they felt they were the genuine article. V.R. Roskam said he understood Johnson's hesitance, but wanted to give him a chance to consider meeting with them. After talking to friends and family, Johnson decided to meet with the Roskams. "It's nice to see somebody appreciate Vietnam vets," Johnson said. Johnson said he has not been able to recall how he lost the tag, one of two he carried on him. "We were stuck out in the field a lot," he explained. "When all you lost was a dog tag it wasn't a bad day."

In less than three years, the Roskams have returned nine tags to veterans like Johnson and their families. Three of the returned tags belonged to soldiers who didn't make it home, and another veteran died before his could be returned. Johnson will be the fifth surviving veteran they Roskams will have returned a tag to. "It's an amazing story," Johnson said of their work. To them it's not amazing, it's just a common courtesy. "If we'd lost a son over there and his tag was over there we'd really want it," V.R. Roskam said.

E-mail: jgray@bhamnews.com
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