An American soldier lost his military identity tag when he was wounded by a grenade blast in Vietnam, found by an American traveling in Russia.
Bergham’s office fee said in a news release that Bigmark’s Ruth Happer, Bidmark’s Ruth Happer, is known as Dog Bergam’s dog tag.
“We are forever grateful for the courageous service and sacrifice of Ron Hepper and his family in the Vietnam War, and their families, especially those whose loved ones never came home,” said Bergham. We wish we could have given Ron back these tugs, we are grateful for the opportunity and the immense honor to present this salutation to Ruth on behalf of the grateful state and nation. “
North Dakota Gov. Doug Bergam presents Ron Hipper’s military ID tag to his widow Ruth Happer on Wednesday at Bismarck’s Capitol. Also pictured (from left) are Major General Al Doherman, Hepter’s daughter Julie Hornbaker and her husband Jim and Ron Hepper’s brother Stanley Hepper and his wife Kathleen.
(Government Office. Doug Bergham)
Hepper, nicknamed “Cowboy” by his fellow soldiers, volunteered into the Army in 1967 after graduating from high school and served in the 196th Light Infantry Brigade. He was in Vietnam on June 11, 1969, when he was injured by a hand grenade. The blast blew off his boots where he placed a set of dog tugs.
Afterwards, he woke up in the hospital without his boots or tugs. He spent three months in the Ampey ward but doctors were able to save his legs, which were filled with shrapnel. He was awarded the Purple Heart and after his military service, SD, Isabel returned home.
Hepper and his wife went to Bismarck a few months before his death for the closeness of relatives.
An American came across the tag while traveling in Russia, the publication said. It does not specify when it was discovered. The man bought the tag from a seller in Moscow and delivered it to the American Embassy, which sent it to the Veterans Affairs Department in Washington, DC.
“VA records reflect that Mr. Hepte was very different and sacrificed during the Vietnam War,” VAS Secretary James Hutton wrote in a letter to Ruth Heper. “The opportunity to return the tag is extremely meaningful as the VA and the Department of Defense are currently honoring the heroes of the Vietnam Era Veterans and their families.”
Photo of Ron Happer and his military ID tag. North Dakota Governor Doug Bergam presented his widow with the Tugs on Wednesday at Bismarck’s Capitol. Happy was injured in a grenade blast in Vietnam in 1969 when he lost his boots, where he put them inside the t-shirts.
(Government Office. Doug Bergham)
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It is not clear how the tag ended in Russia, but Ruth Happer has a theory. He believes they may have been recruited by Russian troops fighting alongside North Vietnamese troops. American military artifacts were in demand in Russia and China after the Cold War, the news release said.
