The Legend of Youngs Corner XXX

PART XXX
The Military Connection

Amanda was standing by the small table we had passed on our way to the ladder. It was set against the wall and although it sat beneath a window, there was no moonlight that night, and the contents were hidden in darkness. That is, until Amanda shined her flashlight on it and revealed the treasure trove of medals.

All of us gathered around, staring at this amazing discovery. Just like the tools in the first cabin, these metals were very carefully organized and laid into rows, purposefully. Some one had done this. They weren’t dumped on this table and forgotten, they were toyed over and arranged to be in this precise formation. There was some importance to these medals and we were about to find out what.

“Looks pretty random,” Gaeten said. “A bunch of junk.”
“It sure seems that way,” said Nico, who started to examine some of the bits.
Most were very miscellaneous; a button here, a paperclip there. Pieces of tools, drill bits, tacks; items that one wouldn’t normally think should be out in the open all organized for display. However, some were more intriguing.

“Look at this,” I said as I picked up one of items. “A ring.”
“Any names on it?” Nico asked.
“No.”
“But this has,” said Nick.
I turned to look at him and saw that he was holding a small, rectangular shaped metal piece. His flashlight gave a bright reflection from the item.
“It’s a name tag. It says, ‘Lieutenant Kannegieser.’”
“I know that name,” I whispered.
“From where?” Nick asked.
“The name tag that we found in the big cabin. It read ‘Suzanne Kannegieser.’ It was dated 1969. But this metal looks much older than that. Do you think they were married?”
“Well no doubt they were related somehow,” said Gaeten, who now examined the nametag. “Maybe that was their wedding ring you found. Either way, I always told you that Kannegieser would be the name to remember, it has to be a key.”
“Well if you do want to know how old it is, I can tell you,” Nick said.
“What? How?” asked Nico.
“This.”

Nick held up yet another metal piece. This one was round, very thin and very small. About the size of a quarter in fact. He handed it to me. I lowered my flashlight onto the medallion to see its markings. On one side it read, ‘Given to him who has served his country with honor.’ This was followed by a series of 5 numbers. Around the boarder of the medallion ran the title ‘The United States of America.’ There was even an eagle at the center, with 5 stars above its head. On its reverse side was held the inscription ‘If found, please return to City Hall and to the Mayor.’ And beneath it, the date 1923.
“Wow that’s old. And it’s military,” I said. “Or something very close to it.”
“Yep, and it sat just above where the Lieutenant’s nametag was,” Nick told us. “It’s his.”
“I wonder what he did to earn it?” asked Gaeten. “And now that we found it, do we have to turn it in?”
“I’m not sure,” I said. I held the medallion for a while. It was a connection to a younger age, and age that seemed full of innocence, when one could visit their city’s mayor as if he was a regular friend. ‘Return to City Hall.’ It just seemed so carefree. It carried with it an assumption that the community was made up of good deeds, and everyone looked after their neighbors. It was an era that seemed to exist only in storybooks.

“I’m not going to take it,” I said as I put it back on the table. “Something tells me that it should stay here.”
Gaeten followed my lead and put down the nametag.

"Well it's definitely military," Nick said. "I just found this laying on the ground. A ration book."

He handed it to me. I open it and sure enough, there were ration cards inside.

"Can you believe it?" said Nick, smiling. "They must be from WWI!"

"This just doesn't feel right," I said silently.

“I’ll tell you something that also doesn’t feel right,” Amanda said. We turned to see her. She was kneeling in front of the wall. She was holding something.
“What?” I asked.
She stretched forth her hand, “This…”