Fred Robinson, a Vietnam veteran who lives in New Hampshire, was feeling low on Veterans Day. A Philadelphia native who was back in the city visiting his son, Robinson was upset by the current political state of affairs after a turbulent election season. So he decided to head outside to Buckley Park to just sit in the sunshine. 

He didn’t know it, but that would be the start of a remarkable story that centers on a pair of dog tags belonging to PFC Charles J. Buckley, a young Marine who gave his life in Vietnam. 

As Robinson sat in quiet contemplation next to the memorial, two women approached. He asked if they knew Charles Buckley and their response left him stunned: They had his dog tags. 

The women – Robinson has since forgotten their names – identified themselves as New Jersey residents working for a foundation that volunteers with the Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial. They had found the tags at the memorial near Penn's Landing and brought them to Chestnut Hill, hoping to get them into the right pair of hands. 

“I feel so lucky that I was there,” Robinson said. “It was really, really emotional for me… just a number of coincidental things.”

What followed was a community effort to preserve this piece of history – and perhaps complete a family memory. 

Robinson took the tags across the street to the Compass real estate office, where Sara Nelson, who was at the front desk, suggested involving the local VFW Post 5205. When the post proved closed for Veterans Day, Nelson secured the dog tags in a safe and contacted her colleague Josh Stumpf, a veteran and VFW member. Through Stumpf, VFW officer Jose Melendez retrieved the tags the very next day.

Melendez says the next step is to look for a family member of Charles Buckley so that the dog tags can be returned to a rightful owner.

“I think Fred Robinson did a great job,” Melendez said. “He’s a godsend, being there at the right time, the right day… it’s like a movie.”

A search for the searchers

While speaking with the two women in the park, Robinson asked if they would pose for a picture. They agreed and took one of him, too. 

Robinson says the entire experience turned his day around for the better. He now wants to thank his benefactors but has no idea how to find them. 

“I’ve been racking my brain ever since but I just can’t remember their names,” Robinson now says. “I’d love to be able to thank them.”

So he gave the Local a call. 

“This is such a great story,” he said. “Do you think you can help?”

The Local jumped in by first running a reverse face search online, but that came up empty. 

Then there were all the emails and phone calls – to representatives from the Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial and various volunteer organizations associated with it. However, no one has been able to identify the two women.

“I can’t tell you how many people I have met over the years at services, at the memorial, and that kind of thing,” said Dennis Best, a Vietnam veteran and vice president of the Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial. “But half of them, I couldn’t give you their names.”

Nelson, too, is keen to find them. 

“The fact that they went ahead and did those extra steps is very commendable,” Nelson said. “It would be amazing to know who they are.”

“It’s a real human story,” Mike Daily, executive director of the Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial told the Local. “When you get involved in a memorial, it’s all about human beings, good human beings.”

The search continues for both Buckley's family and the mysterious good Samaritans. Please contact margaret@chestnuthilllocal.com with any information that might help.