By . Paul Donnelley . A small piece of metal is often the only way to identify soldiers who are killed or wounded in action, making them an integral part of their kit. It was a surprise then when gardener Barrie Jones found a GI’s dog tags in his flower bed in Swansea, South Wales. Mr Jones, 52, scraped the soil off the dog tag and saw the name of Thurmond Carethers from Detroit, Michigan. Gardener Barrie Jones discovered the dog tags of an American D-Day war veteran while digging in his back garden in Swansea. Here he is with his daughter Amber Bates and the dog tags . Gardener's question time: How did a GI's dog tags end up in the Swansea back garden of Barrie Jones? Mr Jones is pictured here with his daughter, Amber Bates . He said: ‘It was just sticking out of the top of the earth and I could see straight away what it was. ‘I was amazed that such an item was lying here all these years - so I set about trying to find out more to reunite it with him or his family.’ With the help of online records Mr Jones has tracked down the daughter of Pvt Carethers who is still living in Michigan. Maurine Carethers-Tate, 57, said that her father never knew where he lost his dog tags before storming the beaches of Normandy. The dog tag of GI Thurmond Carethers from Detroit, Michigan, which was found in a back garden in Swansea, South Wales by a keen gardener, Barrie Jones . She said: ‘I asked him a long time ago. I said: ‘Daddy, where your dog tags?' and he said: ‘I don't know.’ Now, more than thirty years after his death, the mystery has been solved. Military records show Pvt Carethers was just 20 when he signed up days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. A tearful Maurine Carethers-Tate of River Rouge, Michigan, receives a letter telling her that her late father's dog tags - long thought lost forever - have been found in a back garden in Swansea, South Wales - more than 3,500 miles away . Pvt Carethers was just 20 when he signed up days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 (the attack on USS Shaw pictured) Pvt Thurmond Carethers from Detroit, Michigan, signed up after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in December 1941 . Thousands of American soldiers were posted around Swansea and the Gower peninsula during the Second World War as they prepared to invade occupied Europe in 1944. Mrs Tate is one of three daughters of Pvt Carethers - who revealed very little about his war experiences to his family. But she said as he got older he spoke of what he did on D-Day and described it as a ‘point in his life he really wanted to forget’. Mrs Tate added: ‘He did what he had to do. He was trying to get back home to marry my mother.’ After the war, he returned to Michigan and married his sweetheart Blanche Maurine. The two were married from 1946 until 1969 but remained close until he died of cancer a few years later. Mr Jones is sending the dog tags to Pvt Carethers's daughters to finally reunite them with their father's wartime past.
Barrie Jones, 52, was working in his garden in Swansea, South Wales .
He saw the name of Pvt Thurmond Carethers from Detroit, Michigan .
Pvt Carethers who enlisted after Pearl Harbor died more than 30 years ago .
By . Paul Donnelley . A small piece of metal is often the only way to identify soldiers who are killed or wounded in action, making them an integral part of their kit. It was a surprise then when gardener Barrie Jones found a GI’s dog tags in his flower bed in Swansea, South Wales. Mr Jones, 52, scraped the soil off the dog tag and saw the name of Thurmond Carethers from Detroit, Michigan. Gardener Barrie Jones discovered the dog tags of an American D-Day war veteran while digging in his back garden in Swansea. Here he is with his daughter Amber Bates and the dog tags . Gardener's question time: How did a GI's dog tags end up in the Swansea back garden of Barrie Jones? Mr Jones is pictured here with his daughter, Amber Bates . He said: ‘It was just sticking out of the top of the earth and I could see straight away what it was. ‘I was amazed that such an item was lying here all these years - so I set about trying to find out more to reunite it with him or his family.’ With the help of online records Mr Jones has tracked down the daughter of Pvt Carethers who is still living in Michigan. Maurine Carethers-Tate, 57, said that her father never knew where he lost his dog tags before storming the beaches of Normandy. The dog tag of GI Thurmond Carethers from Detroit, Michigan, which was found in a back garden in Swansea, South Wales by a keen gardener, Barrie Jones . She said: ‘I asked him a long time ago. I said: ‘Daddy, where your dog tags?' and he said: ‘I don't know.’ Now, more than thirty years after his death, the mystery has been solved. Military records show Pvt Carethers was just 20 when he signed up days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. A tearful Maurine Carethers-Tate of River Rouge, Michigan, receives a letter telling her that her late father's dog tags - long thought lost forever - have been found in a back garden in Swansea, South Wales - more than 3,500 miles away . Pvt Carethers was just 20 when he signed up days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 (the attack on USS Shaw pictured) Pvt Thurmond Carethers from Detroit, Michigan, signed up after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in December 1941 . Thousands of American soldiers were posted around Swansea and the Gower peninsula during the Second World War as they prepared to invade occupied Europe in 1944. Mrs Tate is one of three daughters of Pvt Carethers - who revealed very little about his war experiences to his family. But she said as he got older he spoke of what he did on D-Day and described it as a ‘point in his life he really wanted to forget’. Mrs Tate added: ‘He did what he had to do. He was trying to get back home to marry my mother.’ After the war, he returned to Michigan and married his sweetheart Blanche Maurine. The two were married from 1946 until 1969 but remained close until he died of cancer a few years later. Mr Jones is sending the dog tags to Pvt Carethers's daughters to finally reunite them with their father's wartime past.
tags in his flower bed in Swansea, South Wales. and saw the name of Thurmond Carethers from Detroit, Michigan. Gardener Barrie Jones more than 3,500 miles away . Pvt Carethers was Carethers from Detroit, Michigan, signed up after daughters of Pvt Carethers - who revealed very