It's just a small piece of blackened and corroded metal.

But the dog tag returned to Kathy Jaycox may have been with her father, Richard, on the battlefields of France during World War II.

Out of respect for what American GIs had done for the country, a Frenchman who found the tag around 1956 held onto it, and when the opportunity arrived to return it a half century later, he did.

A Louisiana State University associate professor who next came into possession of the tag researched the name Richard E. Jaycox and found his daughter, Kathy, in Kailua.

After an around-the-world trip, the dog tag now in Kathy Jaycox's possession still is something of a mystery, but it is without a doubt testament to the respect for American service members such as Richard Jaycox, who sacrificed so much in World War II.

"It's a beautiful story about people connecting," said Kathy Jaycox, who works in the systems office of academic affairs at the University of Hawai'i.

Last summer, she received an e-mail from Frank Anselmo, an associate professor at LSU. Anselmo had been conducting research in Alsace, France, when he met a Frenchman named Denis Haguenauer from Cirey in Lorraine.

Haguenauer had found the dog tag in the woods around 1956 when he was about 10.

When he met Anselmo, he remembered the tag and gave it to the American, hoping he could find its owner.

Anselmo checked the National World War II Memorial Web site, found that Kathy Jaycox had submitted information, and contacted her.

With the possibility that the tag could have belonged to her father, who died in 1997 at the age of 76, it's a cherished memento. But it also comes with an ongoing mystery.

"I already had one of my Dad's dog tags from World War II which was complete with his name and address and my grandmother's name as the person to contact in case of an emergency," Jaycox said.

The dog tag from France "didn't have a complete (contact) name, and in fact, there's the name 'George,' " Jaycox said.

"This is totally theory on my part, but I'm thinking maybe whoever was making this dog tag, my Dad looked at it and said, 'What are you doing? There's nobody named George in my family.' So he just threw it away."

There have been cases of fake American dog tags being produced in Vietnam, but Kathy Jaycox said the tag with her father's name looks legit.

"Oh yeah," she said. "It's definitely old and pretty beat up."

According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the 42nd "Rainbow" Division deployed to Europe in December 1944, and landed in the French port of Marseille.

By mid-December, the division had advanced into Alsace. In March 1945, the 42nd drove into Germany and crossed the Rhine River.

In April 1945, the 42nd Infantry Division entered the Dachau concentration camp, the earliest and longest-functioning SS-controlled camp in Nazi Germany.

Kathy Jaycox's father was an infantryman with the Rainbow Division, and she knows from the meticulous records he kept that he was in Cirey, France, in January 1945.

She wrote to the Frenchman, Haguenauer, thanking him for turning over the tag to Anselmo. Haguenauer wrote her back, completing the circle again.

"It was these historic moments, the support of America and her soldiers, that allowed us to win this war," Haguenauer wrote in a letter translated from French. "There are some profound moments in life for me, (and) this reunion is a proof that the past remains present always in our hearts."

IN BRIEF

NAVY EXPANDING CAMBODIA TIES

Adm. Robert F. Willard, the commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet, has pledged to strengthen the Navy's partnership with Cambodia and the collective security of the region.

Willard, who has his headquarters at Pearl Harbor, acknowledged the importance of a strong relationship with Cambodia in his "Rat-Pac Report" podcast posted Wednesday.

Willard discussed the impact of the recent visits to Cambodia by USS Essex and USS Gary, the U.S. Navy's first port visits there in 30 years. Essex is based out of Japan, and Gary out of San Diego.

In November, Willard traveled to Cambodia to see firsthand Essex's outreach, including medical and dental projects and professional exchanges.

"This was my first opportunity to visit Cambodia, and I had an opportunity to meet with their leadership and talk to them a little bit about how our Navy might help theirs and the relationship between their country and the United States," Willard said.

U.S. Navy doctors, dentists and corpsman from Essex and 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit conducted medical and dental civic action projects to help the people of Kampong Cham and the remote village of Kulen from Nov. 28-30.

"They've got senior military leadership and senior political leadership that are trying very hard to be successful and to reform their country," Willard said. "They'd like our help, and we are going to give it to them."

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com.

Make a difference. Donate to The Advertiser Christmas Fund.