John Cagnon is a U.S. postal worker in Lewiston, Maine.

      Not too long ago, John was traveling in Vietnam on vacation. Looking for souvenirs in a small gift shop in Ho Chi Minh City, John saw among the t-shirts and knick-knacks, a small basket of trinkets. What he found rummaging through the basket made him stop in his tracks: amid the trinkets were 20 dog tags of Ameri­can servicemen – ten of them in good enough condition to read. These need to go back to America, he said to himself. They don’t belong in a trinket shop. He “bought” the tags for $25. “I couldn’t get the money out of my pocket quickly enough.”

      And now John is on a mission to return these tags to the families of the servicemen.

      So far he’s found eight of the ten fami­lies in Tennessee, Iowa, Arizona and Florida.

      A few weeks ago, he tracked down the family of Army Sgt. George Palermo in Plainfield, Massachusetts. Palermo was killed in Vietnam in June 1969; he was 25 years old. After contacting the family, John drove three hours from his home in Maine to Massachusetts. With roses and the tags in a small jewelry box, John presented the gifts to Palermo’s mother, aunt, and niece.

      Palermo’s niece, Debbie Smith, who was only a toddler when her uncle was killed said, “This was im­portant for us to have back in the family and for John to understand that and bring it to us proves that he has a great heart.”

      With three tags left to identify and deliver, John says “I’m doing this as a way of saying thank you.

Faith Reflections

      Christ sends each and every one of us, in our own travels, to proclaim God’s king­dom of compassion and justice and to bring the peace of the Risen One to all we meet. So may it be!