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70 years later, bracelet finds way to airman's family
More than 70 years ago, working as an airplane mechanic at an Air Force base in Texas, Graham Tannery of Raleigh found a bracelet bearing the first initial and last name of a fellow airman.
Posted — UpdatedRALEIGH, N.C. — More than 70 years ago, working as an airplane mechanic at an Air Force base in Texas, Graham Tannery of Raleigh found a bracelet bearing the first initial and last name of a fellow airman.
The effort to find the owner at a busy base with the country at war seemed insurmountable.
"I didn't even try to find out who it belonged to because I knew they were switching people around so much," Tannery said.
When Tannery's service was complete, he put the bracelet in a box with other mementos collected during World War II.
Now 94, Tannery tried again.
"I would like to see who it belongs to and see if he is still living," he said. "I would like to talk to him if he was living."
With the help of the Veteran's Legacy Foundation, it took just a month to identify the pilot as Capt. Oldell Woods. He had been shot down over Tokyo Bay in 1945.
The foundation tracked the pilot's sister to Iowa and sent her the bracelet, which she opened on Memorial Day.
"It's just been a wonderful gift," she said.
Tannery said returning the bracelet makes this Memorial Day a bit more memorable for him, too.
"I am just delighted that we found somebody that it belonged to," he said.
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