David F. Winder died trying to save comrades.

More Photos (1):

Other articles by Carol Ann Alaimo:

Program will put recent war veterans in 'green' jobsD-M would gain 400 posts, Air Guard lose 126 in proposed Air Force budgetAmerican Legion Post 131 is fast starterBig-screen TVs, Wi-Fi, maybe a smoking banMilitary leader to stay in Southern Arizona Study seeks military spouses Tucson woman to honor mate's Navy service in burial at sea Dentist's family's troubles resurfaceSoldier lost half his skull but not his determinationHorses as therapists: helping veterans heal

Trades/Construction
RANCHO RESORT
MAINTANANCE POSITION Construction
West-Press
Printing Finance and Accounting
Charles E. Gillman Company
Accounting Specialist Health Care
CENTRAL ARIZONA COLLEGE
DIRECTOR OF HEALTH INFORMATION MANAGEMENT Administrative & Professional
Tucson Urban League
CEO/President Sales and Marketing
Everready Glass
Sales Reps Administrative & Professional
Jorgensen Brooks Group
Counselor

After nearly 40 years, the lost Army dog tag of an American hero is coming home from Saigon via Tucson.

Pfc. David F. Winder was 23 when he died trying to save his comrades in Vietnam, an effort that earned the Army medic the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award for courage.

In an improbable chain of events, the dog tag Winder wore around his neck has been found by a Tucson-based group that searches for such items overseas to return them to veterans or their survivors.

Tours of Peace Vietnam Veterans has been doing the recovery work for 10 years during trips the group runs in Southeast Asia. This is the first time a find has been linked to a winner of the medal so revered that even high-ranking generals must salute those who have received it.

The discovery sent chills through volunteers at the local group, said its president, Jess DeVaney.

"I was almost speechless," said DeVaney, a Marine Corps rifleman in Vietnam.

Winder's dog tag was one of several found during a June trip to Saigon, where such items are often sold as tourist trinkets, DeVaney said.

It took weeks for the tag to be verified and months to locate Winder's survivors.

"It was fate that this ended up in our hands and now we're bringing it back to his family," DeVaney said.

Winder, who was born in Pennsylvania and grew up in Ohio, was the pacifist son of a Presbyterian minister and considered fleeing to Canada as a conscientious objector when he was drafted, said his brother, Joe Winder, 60, of Philadelphia

Instead, he decided to serve unarmed as an Army medic "so he could help people instead of shooting people," his brother said.

David Winder died in a hellish firefight in 1970 when his unit was pinned down in a rice paddy. Though shot twice, the medic continued crawling toward other wounded troops and aiding them until he was killed by a third enemy hit.

His bravery so inspired comrades that they rallied and managed to defeat their attackers that day, says the citation for his posthumous Medal of Honor.

Joe Winder said he was astonished by a recent letter from the Tucson group saying his brother's dog tag had been found.

"I'm just amazed that this has happened and that they managed to track me down," he said. He plans to wear the tag around his neck to keep it near his heart.

DeVaney is using his frequent-flier miles to personally deliver the memento to the family.

"I expect it will be pretty emotional," he said.