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WILMINGTON — The sons of a U.S. Army Vietnam veteran got the memory of their father returned to them Thursday.

Veteran Richard Wiler lost his dog tags during a combat mission more than 30 years ago. He was wounded in service and awarded two Purple Hearts. Wiler passed away in 2001. However, a volunteer was working in Vietnam when he came across a street vendor selling nearly 400 sets of American dog tags.

He brought the tags back to the United States and has been tracking down family members to return them to their rightful owners. Wiler's sons say it has helped them discover more about their father than they ever knew.

"I think it's really awesome. Like I said, my dad never talked much about the war. And once Bob showed up at my doorstep with the dog tags I started doing a lot of research finding out a bunch of stuff," said son, Jeff Wiler.

The ceremony was held at Cape Fear Community College's veteran's center.