Every once in a while Shane Hubanks and his employees at the Mt Juliet Goodwill find something that doesn't belong inside their store.
Such was the case in May when a shopper brought in a small bag to donate, that no price tag could ever do justice.
"I knew these bags were given to people that had passed away, I looked at my manager and said wouldn't this be tragic if that was that if this was someone's personal items that passed away
In the bag was a driver's license, family photos and a dog tag. Inscribed on the tag was Sgt. Asbury Freddie Hawn's name.
"This name is ringing a bell with me, something was pulling me toward this," Hubanks said.
When Shane saw the name on that dog tag, he felt a strange sense of familiarity bug couldn't figure out why. Turns out, it was a name that he'd seen before on a sign he passed to work every morning on Tennessee State Route 840.
"Everyday on my way to work for the last 7 years I drove this stretch of 840 and part of that road is named after him," Hubanks recalled.
Sgt. Hawn was 35-years-old when he was killed in Iraq by a roadside bomb in 2005. He was a 1989 graduate from LaVergne High School in 1989 The items left at Goodwill were in his wallet the day he died.
"Maybe this is someone's stuff, maybe someone is looking for this. If I was the family I saw kids in the picture you kids if it was me I'd want it returned to me," he said.
Shane set out to send the items home and on Facebook he found Sgt. Hawn's widow. Days later, she came to the Goodwill store to retrieve the bag she thought was gone.
"I showed it to her and she immediately started getting emotional," he added. The donation that didn't belong here has found its way back home.
