I talked to Craig on the phone, he told me about losing WW2 military dog tags that had been passed down to him from his grandfather. He was very distraught as these meant the world to him..
We talked for a few minutes on the phone about the location. It is a small beach cove at the Montage Beach Resort in Laguna Beach, CA.. The whole cove is less than half the size of a football field. I knew exactly where he was describing his loss. He agreed to meet me there, but I knew I could get there before Craig. It was important to beat the oncoming beach crowds.
I was able to spot where Craig had been digging the night before. I set up and searched a 20×20 ft area before he got to the beach. He was very positive as to where he had been the day of the loss. As I searched, I picked up the trash metal. Explaining to Craig that if I had to cross grid they would not bother me on my second pass. I showed him a peace of metallic strap which he told me was the same piece of metal he coached away from a seagull. He actually was feeding seagulls that day to get it to drop the metal strap.
I could not find his lost military dog tags. He was starting to believe that some young guys, that were sitting behind him, may have taken his heirloom keepsake. We talked about other options he might try to find his chain and tags.
I went home thinking that it could be possible the tags were buried deep because he had moved a lot of sand trying to find them. Long Story shortened.. I returned the next morning with a Pulse Induction detector that may give me a few inches more depth and would get all metal types. Starting at one end of the beach, I gridded the whole beach ( 2 hrs ). Up against the cliff in the sand I spotted an edge of one of the dog tags sticking out of the sand. Swing my coil and bam, a solid sound. Craig’s grandfathers WW2 military dog tags. More than 50 feet away from anywhere he had been. I had searched every bit of sand except about 50 square feet. Ready to call it a day.
We think that the seagulls may have taken them to that location or the young teenagers may have taken them to there, losing them or just throwing them there. We will never know! I do know that Craig was a happy guy.
2 Replies to “WW 2 Military Dog Tags Lost .. Montage Resort, Laguna Beach, CA. .. Found and Returned”
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I’m adding Craig’s Story he posted to his friends…
Cool story! On the 10th I went to the beach and while there I took off my chain with my grandfather’s WWII dog tags. These tags are priceless to me and most prized possession. Well, l lost them! After searching until the sun went down I went back the following morning, dug up at least 20 sq ft of sand in the same area with no luck. On the 12th I hired a local man with a metal detection business to come out and after searching the entire cove for several hours we reluctantly gave up. I’ve been so sad and depressed and had given up hope until I received this message earlier today. He had gone back on his own accord with a detector that would search deeper since they were possibly buried by me and/or the tide. He had no luck again but as he left walking along the cliffs he looks up to see a shiny object which turned out to be my grandfather’s tags. A bird had taken them and after deciding they were useless left them on the cliff. This man went above and beyond and is my hero! We need more people like Stanley Ross!
Craig is my son of which I am so proud. The WW11 Tags belong too my Father Kenneth Brown King. Thank you so very much.