What's believed to be a special military coin has been discovered amidst all the scrap in an auto parts yard in Lackawanna County.
Now the finder is looking for the keepsake's rightful owner.
Kenny Byers of Peckville found the commemorative military coin in a most unusual place and in a most unusual way in Dunmore.
He went to DeNaples Auto Parts looking for a cup holder. He said he found a bunch of change inside a GMC Envoy. He later noticed he found that military coin.
"It was that night when I was emptying change out of my pocket this was an Iraqi veteran," said Byers. "It got me thinking, just kept staring at it and staring at it."
According to DeNaples Auto, the GMC Envoy in which the coin was found came from an auction in New York.
Markings on the coin show it came from the National Guard in Wisconsin.
"It says Operation Iraqi Freedom, Tiger Battalion. On the back it says 128th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion," said Byers. "It has the gentleman's name on it. Right across it says Olson. There's a lot of symbols on it."
A spokeswoman for the Wisconsin National Guard confirmed that the coin was among several given to its soldiers in honor of their service in Iraq but she was not sure who the coin belongs to.
Meanwhile, Byers hopes to return the coin to its rightful owner soon.
"How did it get it all the way out here? There are a lot of questions. I'm still looking for answers."
Now the finder is looking for the keepsake's rightful owner.
Kenny Byers of Peckville found the commemorative military coin in a most unusual place and in a most unusual way in Dunmore.
He went to DeNaples Auto Parts looking for a cup holder. He said he found a bunch of change inside a GMC Envoy. He later noticed he found that military coin.
"It was that night when I was emptying change out of my pocket this was an Iraqi veteran," said Byers. "It got me thinking, just kept staring at it and staring at it."
According to DeNaples Auto, the GMC Envoy in which the coin was found came from an auction in New York.
Markings on the coin show it came from the National Guard in Wisconsin.
"It says Operation Iraqi Freedom, Tiger Battalion. On the back it says 128th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion," said Byers. "It has the gentleman's name on it. Right across it says Olson. There's a lot of symbols on it."
A spokeswoman for the Wisconsin National Guard confirmed that the coin was among several given to its soldiers in honor of their service in Iraq but she was not sure who the coin belongs to.
Meanwhile, Byers hopes to return the coin to its rightful owner soon.
"How did it get it all the way out here? There are a lot of questions. I'm still looking for answers."
