It's a story that began with a lighter that was found in Springville, NY.  Now, it's turned into an effort to bring a man here to reunite him with a piece of his father.

Jason Jaskula is one of the founders of the KIA Memorial Race (KMR).  This story starts with Jason's father, who found a Zippo lighter years ago in Springville.

The lighter was inscribed with a map of Viet Nam on one side and on the other were the letters VFMA-115 and the name D.L. Kelley.

Obviously, this lighter meant something to someone.  After years of trying to find the owner, Jason, who is a veteran himself  and understood the importance of items like this, decided to take to social media to find the owner.

Within mere hours, they were in contact with the owner's squadron and found that he was no longer alive but that his son (Josh) was living in Arkansas.  Not only did they now have a name, but a whole story about a Lance Corporal D.L (Daniel) Kelley who fought in Viet Nam and unfortunately came into contact with Agent Orange.  It ended up costing him his life and left his son with birth defects.  But he was incredibly ecstatic with the thought of being reunited with any part of his father.

 

And this is where your help comes in...

They are hoping to bring Josh to WNY to honor his father and reunite his family with the lighter.  They have set up a Go Fund Me Page to fly him and a guest to be there at the KIA Memorial March on August 18th at Chesnutt Ridge Park.

The zippo lighter has had a long journey to get back where it belongs, to the Veterans Son, Josh.  Please help KMR help this Veteran."

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