Fivecoate's Dog Tag Returned

Gerald Fivecoate's Daughter Finds Tag
By NICOLE ROALES Kokomo Tribune staff writer

More than 35 years after serving in the Vietnam War, a Kokomo man's missing dog tag was found and returned to him. When Julie Tracy of Kokomo typed her father's name into an Internet search engine, she found a link to a Web site that claimed a group of people had found his dog tag in Hoi An, Vietnam. Tracy sent away for more information and after confirming her father's service number, the organization mailed the dog tag to Tracy. Last week, she presented it to her 56-year-old father Gerald Fivecoate Sr. "It was great being able to give him something that he had lost and had no idea where it was," Tracy said. "He has not talked about the war too much until the last six or seven years, and so being able to give him something that he had lost was really pretty awesome."

Fivecoate served in Vietnam from 1966 to 1967. When he returned home, he couldn't find his dog tag. Today, he said he is amazed that with the number of men and women serving there, someone found the tag lying on the ground. "It was rather incredible and I'm glad to have it back," Fivecoate said. The American organization that found Fivecoate's tag is called Tours Of Peace Vietnam Veterans. The organization was started to help veterans cope and recover from the trauma of the war. The non profit organization takes veterans through Vietnam to confront their past experiences, find closure and heal. During past trips, dog tags have been recovered and TOP Vets posts a list on the organization's Web site. More than 400 of the items have been recovered so far and 21 returned, including Fivecoate's.

Fivecoate was ranked Specialist 4 and part of the 2nd Howitzer Battery, 11th Armored Calvary. Part of the time he was stationed in Hoi An, Vietnam, the area where the dog tag was found. "I'm very proud of my daughter for loving her father enough and respecting me enough to find out more about that part of my life," Fivecoate said. "She's a remarkable young lady, and she's always out there trying to do something for dad and I always like that."

TOP (Tours Of Peace) Vietnam Veterans
8000 S. Kolb Road
Suite 43
Tucson, Arizona 85756-9275

Phone: 520-326-0901
Fax: 520-844-8485