BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A dog tag is more than a small oval disk on a chain used to identify those fighting in combat.
For many, the small piece of flattened and embossed metal is a reminder of the sacrifice of those who have served in armed conflict around the world.
For Bethlehem resident Laura Morrow, the significance runs even deeper.
Her father’s dog tag is a cherished — and currently missing — piece of family history.
It also was the only part of her father she has left.
“I’ve lost hope. It’s been a month. I’ve tried every social media [platform]. People have talked about getting them remade. It’s not the same as the ones he wore.”Bethlehem resident Laura Morrow
Walter Proding was 88 when he died Jan. 19, 2018, from injuries sustained in a fire at his Bethlehem Township home.
Proding, an Army veteran of the Korean War, lived alone at the time of his death. During the fire, conditions deteriorated so rapidly that three firefighters who entered the home also were injured while battling the blaze.
Everything inside was lost, Morrow said, except the tag, which was kept on on a standard bead chain.
“The fire was just ashes," she said in a phone call Wednesday. "We went through after. It was horrible.”
Since the blaze, she said, she’d typically kept the dog tag around her neck.
But in December, while rushing to meet a friend at Wind Creek Casino in Bethlehem, she believes, she dropped it on the casino’s property, possibly on the third level of the parking deck.
It hasn't been located or returned.
“I’ve lost hope,” Morrow said. “It’s been a month. I’ve tried every social media [platform]. People have talked about getting them remade. It’s not the same as the ones he wore.”
‘He was just a good person’
The dog tag is considered a link between a soldier and his loved ones, and for Morrow, that symbolism is strong.
“I took it with me to the casino because my dad liked to go at Christmas, and so I was taking him,” Morrow said.
Unbeknownst to Morrow, she also dropped her Social Security card that evening. It was turned in, but the dog tag was not.
“I thought maybe someone else found it and didn’t want to walk back in, and next time they came they’d return it,” Morrow said. “But it hasn’t happened.”
She believes if someone picked up the tag and walked away, a collector of war relics or someone with interest in military history may be holding onto it.
She’s also checked eBay, where scores of authentic dog tags are listed for sale as collectibles.
She said she’s bothered by the idea that someone else might be holding a piece of father’s life in their hands, or selling it off to the highest bidder.
“It was a little rough at his funeral,” Morrow said. “I learned things about him I didn’t know. I have many regrets that I should’ve known some of that stuff and I didn’t.
“My dad was the most honest person in my life out of everybody. My dad was the one who taught me never to lie and he was just a good person.”
He was also proud of his military service.
“He talked about his time in the army a lot,” Morrow said.
Service to country, community
After the war, Proding joined the Pennsylvania National Guard’s 213th Regiment out of Allentown.
But he wasn’t a man who served just his country.
Proding also served his community as a volunteer for numerous organizations, including the Special Olympics, Bethlehem Catholic Youth Organization, the Boys and Girls Club of Bethlehem and more.
He was very involved with children with cerebral palsy, Morrow said, serving as a side walker, helping children ride and care for horses.
Proding was honored as the Boys and Girls Club alumni of the year in 1994 and Special Olympics Volunteer of the Month for December 1994.
He also was chosen Man of the Year for Unico, among the largest Italian-American service organizations in the United States, with the motto “Service Above Self.”
“You don’t run into too many people like my dad in your lifetime. I wish I would’ve had more time with him.Bethlehem resident Laura Morrow
About a year before he died, Proding was honored by a motorcycle club dedicated to “Warriors Helping Warriors.”
“Our whole family was there hiding in the basement of the Boys and Girls Club, and the Warrior Riders came and did their thing and thanked him for his service,” Morrow said.
“That was probably one of the highlights of my dad’s life. That was a very special event and I’m so glad he had that. He was very, very proud of his time in the service.”
Every year, the Boys and Girls Club posts something on its website or social media in memory of Proding.
In Bethlehem, May 13 is officially known as Walter Proding Day.
“You don’t run into too many people like my dad in your lifetime," Morrow said. "I wish I would’ve had more time with him."
And so she’s hoping that her dad’s dog tag is out there somewhere, and that it will be returned.
“The tag is a source of comfort for soldiers in times of conflict, and it was a comfort for me to carry that part of my dad with me,” Morrow said.
“I’ve posted on Facebook and a post had about 4,000 views on Next Door. Facebook also has its own page for lost dog tags and I posted there.
“A lot of the comments said things like, ‘I hope you find them. I’m praying for you.’”
Anyone with information on the tag can email Morrow at plmbrz@gmail.com.
