World War II digger Kevin Sheahan’s ID tag found 70 years after his death

The lost identification tag of a Templestowe serviceman has been found more than seven decades after his death. Now efforts are being made to return it to his family.

History buff Ben Frawley has joined a team of people trying to bring fallen World War II serviceman Kevin Sheahan’s military identification tag home to Templestowe. Picture: Hamish Blair

The lost identification tag of a Templestowe serviceman who was killed in World War II has been found in Papua New Guinea more than seven decades after his death.

Queensland man Josh Wilkins was on holiday with friends when they stumbled across Kevin Sheahan’s service identification tag on March 8.

Sheahan, an airman with the RAAF, died while on duty on Morotai Island when a bomb from another aircraft accidentally detonated on an airstrip in 1945.

He was 21.

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Mr Wilkins said he and friends Paul and Lisa Watts spotted the item at an open air market on Kiriwina Island in Papua New Guinea.

They bought it for about $50 and now want to return it to his family and see it displayed in an appropriate public setting.

Mr Wilkins said while they wanted to get the disc back home to Melbourne the mystery of how it ended up where they found it would probably endure.

Templestowe serviceman Kevin Sheahan was killed in Papua New Guinea near the end of World War II.

“Sheahan was killed on Morotai Island, hundreds of nautical miles to the north east, so it must have been traded many, many times to get to Kiriwina Island,” he said.

“We all felt that returning it was the right thing to do. It almost felt as if we were meant to bring it home.”

Mr Wilkins said after returning to Brisbane the trio jumped online, using Sheahan’s personnel number on the disc to match with Australian Government records online.

Learning he was from Templestowe, they hit up Facebook to start the search for his family.

They managed to track down history buff Ben Frawley, who runs the We grew up in Templestowe page, but there they hit a wall.

Mr Frawley said he was aware both Sheahan and his sister Carmel, who died in recent years, never had children.

“There are no direct blood descendants. (Kevin and Carmel) had cousins but they have different names and don’t live in the district anymore,” he said.

Mr Frawley said it was important for Sheahan’s sacrifice to be commemorated.

“He left his family home to go away to the war and is now buried in a foreign land,” he said.

“I think it’s important that he figuratively comes home and is remembered.”

The RSL has been contacted for comment.