Alex Christodoulides
In an extraordinary turn of events, a Queens woman's father's military dog tags that were lost when her purse was stolen last February found their way back to her last month, the New York Post reported.
Fresh Meadows resident Lorraine Arents, 65, was robbed at gunpoint near her home last winter, losing her pocketbook containing her wallet, identification and the dog tags her father, Robert Cerveny, had worn in World War II when he stormed the beach at Normandy during D-Day, the Post reported.
Arents thought the treasured memento of her late father — Cerveny died in 1983 — was lost forever until a Port Authority officer examining a fence near the water at John F. Kennedy International Airport spotted the purse and tracked her down, the Post reported.
“She really went bananas,” Port Authority Officer Randal Kraft told the Post. “She said to me, 'Do you know what today is?' “
The date of the discovery? June 6, the anniversary of D-Day, the Post reported.
“It's a miracle,” Arents told the Post.
Reach reporter Alex Christodoulides by e-mail at achristodoulides@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 155.
