06/01/2026
Okay, Avon Township and beyond... we need your help!
About a week ago, my friend Rich Downes asked if he could use his metal detector on the Avon Township property next to Sereno's in Round Lake Park. The property is located where the old roller rink and Park used to be.
Well, Rich found something pretty incredible.
Buried in the ground were U.S. Navy dog tags from World War II. We could still read the information on them, which started us on a journey neither of us expected.
The same day Rich gave me the dog tags, there happened to be a board meeting at the Grayslake Heritage Center. I wanted to show them what Rich had found and see if anyone could help identify who the dog tags belonged to.
Once the meeting was over, I showed them the tags and asked for help. Between their knowledge of history, military records, genealogy sites, and a lot of detective work, they were able to identify the owner as Daniel Thomas Learned.
Daniel was born in Springfield, Illinois, in 1926. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and the Korean War. He later worked as a plumber for many years and passed away in 2001. He is buried at Camp Butler National Cemetery.
But here's the mystery.
How did the dog tags of a Springfield Navy veteran end up buried on Avon Township property next to Sereno's in Round Lake Park?
Did Daniel ever visit this area? Did he have family here? Were the dog tags passed down to a child or grandchild and somehow lost years later? We just don't know.
What we do know is that Rich and I would love to find Daniel's family and return these dog tags to them. If we can find his family, we'd be honored to personally return them after all these years.
According to the information we found, Daniel had children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. We're hoping someone out there may know the family or have a connection to them.
So we're asking for your help.
Do you know the Learned family? Are you related to Daniel Thomas Learned? Do you know anyone from Springfield who may be connected to him?
Please share this post. Let's see if we can solve this mystery together and return a piece of history to the family it belongs to.
A huge thank you to Rich Downes and the Grayslake Heritage Center for helping uncover the story behind these dog tags.
Now let's see if we can find Daniel's family. Please share this post, and let's get the dog tags back to his family.
