WILKES-BARRE — If it wasn’t for Facebook, the family of John Krall may have been missing his dog tag forever.
Krall, a veteran of the U.S. Army, died in 2012, but one of his World War II dog tags was found Wednesday by Edward Backes.
Backes, a Wilkes-Barre barbershop owner, was walking along the Susquehanna River below the Eighth Street Bridge in Plains Township with his metal detector when he got a hit. Bending down to pick up the object that set off his detector, he realized it was something special.
“I’ve never found any with someone’s name on it,” he said. “It’s a part of someone’s history.”
The dog tag lists Krall’s name, his social security number, his wife Margaret’s name and their address: “331 Rear Maffett St., Midvale, Penna.” Midvale is a village in Plains Township.
After Googling Krall’s name, he found an obituary from 2012.
The obituary states that Krall, who was 90 when he died, was born in Port Blanchard, lived in Wyoming, and had moved to Long Island, N.Y. He graduated from Jenkins Township High School and served in the South Pacific during World War II. He also was a life member of the American Legion, West Wyoming.
Upon his return back to the United States, Krall was a foreman for United Foundries in West Wyoming until his retirement and spent 12 years as a school crossing guard in the Wyoming Area School District.
It was then that Backes turned to Facebook. A post he made in the History of Wyoming Valley’s West Side Facebook group included the obituary.
“I need some help in trying to return the tag to his wife if she’s still alive,” the post said.
In posting, Backes said he found out Margaret had died. According to her obituary, Margaret passed away in 2015 at the age of 89.
But Chuck Schell knew the Kralls’ daughter, Peggy Galatini, and he provided Galatini with Backes’ number. On Thursday, the two talked on the phone.
“She seemed interested,” Backes said.
Schell, a neighbor of the Kralls when they lived in Wyoming, said he was trying to coordinate a camping trip with some Boy Scouts when he saw Backes’ post. When he saw Krall’s name and World War II, he reached out to Galatini.
“It’s a great thing to do on Memorial Day weekend,” Schell, of Susquehanna Avenue, said. “It’s so great the stars aligned.”
Both Schell and Krall bonded over their military experience. Schell is a veteran of the U.S. Navy.
“We would compare notes,” he said. “But he never mentioned the missing dog tag.”
Though Galatini did not want to comment for the story, Backes said he would be mailing the dog tag to her.
“It’s what I can do,” he said.
