Can you help return WWI medal unearthed in N.J. woods to veteran's family? 

By Jeff Goldman
New Jersey Advance Media via the NJ.com web site

A man scanning public land in Wanaquen New Jersey with a metal detector last week made an unusual discovery -- a dirt-covered World War I service medal that apparently belonged to a former borough resident.

A World War I service medal found in Wanaque last week. Police want to return it to a family member of Dan Battaglia.(Wanaque police) After finding the medal in a wooded area between Lakeland Regional High School and Midvale Cemetery, the man turned it into Wanaque police who are now looking for the veteran's family.

"It was caked in dirt and gunk," Capt. Ken Fackina said Friday, adding that the man who turned it in wants to remain anonymous. "Chief (Robert) Kronyak spent some time cleaning it up."

The chief's efforts were rewarded as the now-readable medal showed revealed a name - Daniel Battaglia.

Born in Black Rock, Washington on May 5, 1890, Battaglia is thought to have lived on Ringwood Avenue in Wanaque in 1942, according to police.

While officials aren't certain, they believe he is interred at Christ the King in Franklin Lakes. Some of the Wanaque's older military veterans told police they think Battaglia was a bachelor who never had any children.

Still, police are trying to find a relative -- even a distant one -- to give the medal.

The inscription on the medal reads, "presented to Dan Battaglia by the people of Wanaque in grateful recognition of patriotic service in the World War."

Read the entire article on the NJ.com web site.

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