United States

Historian Sentenced to Year in Prison for Stealing WWII Dog Tags, Other Items From National Archives

What to Know

  • A man was sentenced to almost a year in prison and three years of supervised release for stealing dog tags from the National Archives.
  • Antonin DeHays, 33, stole at least 291 U.S. service members’ dog tags, officials said.
  • DeHays sold most of the stolen items on eBay, removing the pencil dog tag markings that linked the tags to the National Archives.

A Maryland man was sentenced to almost a year in prison and three years of supervised release Tuesday for stealing dog tags and other items from the National Archives at College Park, Maryland, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland said in a news release.

Antonin DeHays, 33, stole at least 291 U.S. service members’ dog tags in addition to ID cards, personal letters, photos, a Bible and pieces of a U.S. aircraft, officials said. Some of the tags belonged to pilots who had their planes crash or shot in World War II.

DeHays sold most of the stolen items on eBay, after removing pencil markings identifying them as belonging to the National Archives. Others he gave as gifts.

In one instance in December 2016, DeHays stole brass and silver dog tags of a Tuskegee Airman killed when his plane crashed in Germany in 1944, according to prosecutors. He exhanged the brass dog tag for the opportunity to sit in a Spitfire plane at a military aviation museum.

In another instance, he took the dog tag of a man who served in World War II and the dog tag of that man's father, who served in World War I.

DeHays will be required to log 100 hours of community service and pay more than $43,000 in restitution.

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