While making one of her usual shopping trips to an antique store, Ingrid Garrison spotted something that she knew didn’t belong there. 

“It made me wonder, these precious pieces of history that really if nobody cared for, we’ll lose them, especially the ones that are 100 years old,” Garrison, a Topeka resident, said. “So, it just made me wonder how it ended up in a shop.” 

Sitting in the shop’s display case were the World War II dog tags that belonged to former Eudora resident Charles Taylor. And now, after purchasing them about five years ago, Garrison has returned the dog tags to Taylor’s daughter, Valerie Richardson. 

“Thrilled, absolutely thrilled,” Richardson said about getting the dog tags back. 

But in order to get the dog tags back to Richardson, Garrison had to do a lot of searching. 

Garrison said her main resource was findagrave.com. The website provides information on the deceased person, such as when they were born and died, where they are buried, and even the exact plot location for some. 

There are also photos of the person or photos of their headstones. 

Garrison was eventually able to find Taylor’s obituary online. From the obituary, she learned Richardson is the surviving daughter of Taylor, along with his son Larry. 

Garrison then tried to find Richardson on Facebook, but had no luck. 

But then, Garrison searched Richardson on Google where she found Richardson was quoted in a Eudora Times 2019 article. 

Garrison reached out to the Eudora Times about getting in contact with Richardson. From there, Garrison was finally able to reach out to Richardson about getting her father’s dog tags back to her. 

“I think she was really surprised,” Garrison said. “She mentioned they were going through some of her father’s things recently and she had wondered where these dog tags were. So, I’m glad that it was able to get back to her family.” 

Garrison mailed the dog tags to Richardson the day before Thanksgiving and Richardson received them a couple of days later. 

While she doesn’t know exactly how they got lost, Richardson talked about how appreciative she is of Garrison’s effort to get the dog tags back to her. 

“She’s a rare jewel,” Richardson said. “I mean that had to have taken a lot of time and a lot of research and so I’m really grateful.” 

Garrison is a retired member of the United States Air Force. She said she spent all of her service with the Kansas Air National Guard at the 190th Air Refueling Wing in Topeka. 

It is because of her connection to the military that Garrison feels it is important to return military memorabilia to families. 

Garrison said she has been buying military photos and other artifacts from antique stores for over 10 years. She started when she found a picture of a World War I soldier with the word “son,” and the name and address written on the picture. 

“It got me thinking and I wondered if somebody out there would want this photo,” Garrison said. “I know if it was my family I would.”

Garrison was able to track down the soldier’s grandson. Garrison said the grandson, who lived in Washington at the time, didn’t know much about his grandfather and was very thankful to get the photo back. Garrison went to the cemetery where the soldier was buried and sent a picture of the soldier’s headstone to the grandson as well. 

“And so anytime we go into antique stores, if I can find photos of military people, especially from World War I or World War II, I’ll purchase them,” she said. “Even if they don’t have names. But, if they have names, I’ve tried to get them back to family members.”

Garrison said she plans to give any photos without names to a museum or historical society. 

Taylor lived in Eudora with his wife of 55 years, Emma Jean, from 1947 until his death at age 78 in 1997, according to his obituary.

Richardson said her father served with the military police at two different bases in California. during World War II. Richardson said Taylor served for seven years and was discharged as a staff sergeant. 

Aside from being in the military, Taylor was in the trucking business with Borden Dairy, Reusch 7 Taylor and Taylor Truck Line for 50 years. 

Now that Taylor’s dog tags have been returned to his daughter, his legacy and memory can continue to live on in Richardson’s family. 

“It’s a part of his life that’s tangible and a part of my family’s history,” Richardson said. “We’re glad to get it back.” 

Garrison said she is happy and humbled to help preserve the memory of a fellow veteran. She talked about how important it is to remember all those who have served. 

“No matter the conflict, whether it’s Korea, Vietnam, or you know, Operation Enduring Freedom, or any of those, none of them will be forgotten,” she said. “Nobody will be left behind.” 

Reach reporter Jack Denebeim at [email protected]

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