Legacy MattersCrews demolishing old military barracks on this sprawling base near Paso Robles stumbled on a surprising find: wallets.
Tumbling out of heating ducts suspended from the ceilings, the wallets were stuffed with remarkably well-preserved personal belongings dating from World War II and the Korean War.
Love letters. Religious medals. Base passes. High school identification cards. Driver's licenses. Dog tags. Snapshots. Tips for surviving an atomic blast.
The only thing missing was money.
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Air Ducts Hide a Trove of Memories
The fact that there is no money in any of these wallets leads us to believe they were stolen," said California Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Tom Murotake. "The thefts usually involved a trusting guy from a small town who set his wallet down, then got distracted.
"Someone else, in one fluid motion, nabbed the wallet, snatched the cash and chucked the rest into the heating duct overhead."
Over the decades, the heat turned the leather into something resembling beef jerky, but left everything inside intact.
Murotake, who is in charge of tracking down the owners, said the wallets become instant "touchstones,"