Dog tags a U.S. soldier lost on a Massachusetts beach 70 years ago have been returned to his son at the same place. Zachariah Fike head of Vermont-based Purple Hearts Reunited, says the military ID belonged to World War II veteran Cpl. William Benn, who lost them in 1939 at a coastal artillery placement on Salisbury Beach. Metal detector enthusiast Bill Ladd found them after a storm last year. Metal detector enthusiast Bill Ladd found the missing dog tags after a storm last year, returning them to the vet's son, William Benn of Rhode Island . Fike and Ladd gave the tags to William Benn of Providence, Rhode Island, on Sunday afternoon. Cpl. Benn manned a gun during the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. He was awarded the Silver Star for shooting down several Japanese aircraft the next year as a tail gunner on a B-17 bomber at the Battle of Midway. Benn died in 2002. Fike's group recently received a $50,000 grant. The tags came from World War II veteran Cpl. William Benn, who lost them in 1939 at a coastal artillery placement on Salisbury Beach . Purple Hearts Reunited says it will use the money from the Military Order of the Purple Heart Service Foundation to cover the 'purchase or rescue' of Purple Heart medals, the cost of framing, travel expenses and event and presentation costs. Purple Hearts are awarded to service members, or the family of service members, who have been wounded or killed in combat. The organization has hundreds of medals it hopes to return to the veterans who earned the medals or their families.
Zachariah Fike head of Vermont-based Purple Hearts Reunited, says the military ID belonged to World War II veteran Cpl. William Benn .
Benn lost them in 1939 at a coastal artillery placement on Salisbury Beach .
Discovered last year by metal detector enthusiast following a storm .