Dog tags a symbol of horror, friendship

Woman returns ID to man who misplaced it in Vietnam

By ISRAEL SAENZ CALLER-TIMES

June 22, 2006   www.caller.com

To a street vendor in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, they were souvenirs to profit from — metal shards bearing the names of American servicemen long gone or dead.

For Martha Roskam, a Chicago woman who accompanied her husband on a 2001 business trip to the southeast Asian country, the 37 dog tags she purchased for $20 became a mission.

"I knew what they were as soon as I saw them," Roskam said. "My father was in the first World War, my two brothers in the second, and my husband served in Korea."

One set belonged to veteran and Corpus Christi native Ruben Diaz, a 1968 Carroll High School graduate who hadn’t seen them in 34 years. Roskam and her husband, V.R., presented 56-year-old Diaz with a symbol of not only a painful experience but of old companions he shared it with during a ceremony Wednesday night at American Legion Post 364.

"To me, they are mainly just a way to identify ourselves," Diaz said. "But they have meaning because I lost some friends out there."

He served with the 1st Marine Division from 1970-71, climbing to the rank of lance corporal. His memories of the war are filled with booby traps, rocket attacks and ambushes, but also with companionship. He said he does not remember how he lost the tags.

His niece, Kristina Ramirez, filmed the event. She said her uncle was not used to the attention.

"He felt he wasn’t worthy," she said. "It was something he had always tried to forget, but he felt very humbled."

Corpus Christi native Ruben Diaz struggles with his emotions during a ceremony in which he received dog tags he lost while serving in the Vietnam War.

V.R. Roskam, with his wife, Martha, at his side, speaks during the ceremony. Martha recently bought 37 dog tags in Vietnam and is on a mission to find the soldiers to whom they once belonged.

Pictures from Echo 2/1 Charlie Squad

1970 - 1971