A World War I dog tag belonging to a soldier from upstate New York has been found by a military memorabilia collector in France.
The Altamont Enterprise reports that a retired French banker recently bought Frank L. Smith's identification tag at a flea market near Chateau Thierry, where Smith's artillery unit served during the summer of 1918.
Internet searches eventually determined the six-digit service number etched on one side of the tag matched the one issued to a Frank L. Smith of Voorheesville, New York. He survived the war and opened a tavern outside Albany that's still in business. Smith died in 1956.
Officials at the Voorheesville Public Library plan to ask the French retiree if he'll donate or sell Smith's dog tag to them for a historical display.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
