Medford, Ore.- After getting a letter that they weren’t expecting with a piece of their family history that they didn’t even know existed Ginnie Madden and her mother are feeling incredibly grateful and positively overwhelmed.
While Ginnie was visiting her mom in Cave Junction last Saturday,planning for the usual dinner and catching up, her mom handed her an envelope addressed to Ginnie’s father that changed everything.
The envelope came from a man named Gary Provost out of Heber City, Utah. Provost is a man they’d never even heard of before! But, it was what was inside of the envelope that stunned her.
“I read this letter from this gentlemen and he says, ‘I found this dog tag in Rogue River.”
The tags had undergone a little wear and tear but nonetheless he unexpected gift touched Ginnie Madden and her mother.
“My mother and I had never seen his dog tags,” Madden says.
Ginnie’s father, Alan Madden, fought in the Korean War. Alan Madden passed away nearly seven years ago after suffering from Alzheimer’s.
As stunning as it was to get the tags out of the blue Ginnie says that she isn’t surprised that they were found in The Rogue. Her father grew up there and fishing since he was to years old.
She says the unexpected gift has brought light into her life.
“It’s just a very good feeling to know that somebody out there took that time to send it to us.”
And the kind words that came with it, including Provost thanking Ginnie’s father for service, touched Ginnie’s heart.
Ginnie Madden told NBC5 News, “Its given me that faith in humanity.”
Madden and her mother are sending a thank you card to Gary Provost to express their overwhelming gratitude. They plan to add her fathers dog tags to the specially engraved shadow box that holds his flag and the pins he wore during his time in the service.
*Edited after incorrect last name used in story.
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