CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio —
John T. Lawson recently got the surprise of a lifetime and gained access to memories he never knew he would have access to.
John goes by his middle name, Tom. Like many boys who's fathers were in the military, he liked dressing up like dad.
"I always honor my Dad as a Marine," Lawson says. "My dad never really talked too much about Korea, Okinawa, and Guam."
But Sgt. Eugene Lawson did leave a record, in the form of photographs which the Lawsons thought were lost in time. Someone found it in a trash pile in Richmond, Virginia
"I can't believe this," Lawson told 3News.
The album was sent from Richmond to the Cuyahoga Falls Historical Society, who then tracked down Tom's wife Ann.
"I was sitting there bawling as I was on my phone," Ann recalled. "It was very emotional, very happy."
In the shadow of the military memorial in Oakwood Cemetery, Marine Sgt. Eugene Lawson has rested with family since 1985. His service never forgotten, but now, a brighter light shines on Tom's memories of his Dad.
"That's what matters, that we have these connections," Tom said. "This is just really exciting to see his memories. I would have never ever thought I would have got something like this back. I mean it really means a lot."