Larry Hughes: Vietnam war vet's dog tag found in Da Nang rice field after 57 years, returned to family
INGLIS, FLORIDA: The family of a deceased Vietnam War veteran received a memento from their loved one's time in the Marine Corps on Friday, February 17. Larry Hughes, a USMC Corporal, lost his dog tag in 1966 while serving in Vietnam's Da Nang Province.
According to his son Carl, Hughes was a modest man who rarely discussed his time in the military and never mentioned misplacing the crucial piece of identification. "He was very humble," said Carl, as per FOX 13. "He never talked about his time in the service."
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How the dog tag made it to Hughes' family
In October 2022, Jim Webb, a former senator from Virginia, and Michael Desch, a professor at Notre Dame University, led a group of students to the Da Nang Province. A villager approached them as they were digging close to a US military runway and claimed to have six dog tags that had been discovered over time while plowing rice fields. "He said, 'Oh, by the way, I have six dog tags that we found over the years plowing in rice fields,'" said Desch. "And he had one on his keychain. And I asked if we could bring it back." The man complied, and the tag eventually arrived in America.
Webb, who was also a former Navy secretary, started searching for the owner. Sadly, he learned that Hughes had died, but the veteran's sister and son were still alive in Levy County, Florida. "I was like, 'we need to find this person.' It’s so symbolic," Webb told Fox 13. Webb coordinated with the military to get the dog tag delivered to Hughes' family in Inglis, Florida.
'It was like a step back in time'
According to Patricia Hughes Prickett, receiving her dead brother's ID was like "a step back in time" and she couldn't believe it. "I was always so proud of Larry," she said. "There was never a moment when I was not proud of him, and I’m just glad that he’s been recognized."
His family claims that receiving his dog tag back after many years and from halfway across the globe, from a region that was once enemy territory, is a lesson for all. "The two sides hated each other, and look how they come together now that how quickly you can build that friendship, that bond," said Carl. "And that's what the world needs, is everybody can get along and love each other."
The reason Corporal Hughes rarely discussed his time in Vietnam with his family was never made clear to them. Yet, according to the family, it might have been related to his perception that not everyone appreciated his service to his country. "That means the world and the Vietnam vets are getting the recognition that they didn't get before," said Prickett.