Oct 19, 2016 2 min read

A Colorado resident whose friend found a World War II soldier’s dog tag would like to reunite the metal ID with someone who has a connection to the soldier who lost it.

The Colorado man, who formerly lived in South Park, said Mervin White’s identification was found in the state of California in an area known as a training ground for Gen. George S. Patton, who had the task of preparing soldiers for desert warfare against the Germans in North Africa.

It’s likely the tag turned up in Desert Training Center, also known as California-Arizona Manuever Area in the Mojave and Sonoran deserts, where Patton was stationed for four months beginning in 1942. The wesbsite DesertUSA said the first troops who arrived there described it as “the place God forgot.” After Patton shipped out to North Africa, 20 divisions – more than a million men – trained there until 1944, when the camp closed.

The information gleaned from White’s dog tag is he had a tetanus shot in 1942, his blood was Type O, his religion was Protestant and his next-of-kin was Clara Howard of 151 N. Lincoln St., Washington. City directories from 1940 to 1946 do not list residents by either of those names.

The relationship between White and Howard is unknown, but Wright Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, 150 N. Lincoln St., stands across the street from Howard’s address. The church’s cornerstone is inscribed with the date 1848.

Susan Meighen, Washington County veterans’ services director, was able to determine White was discharged from the U.S. Army on Dec. 24, 1945.

Friends or family members for whom the dog tag holds significance are asked to contact Scott Fergus, Washington County director of administration, at 724-228-6725.