Veteran returns dog tags to brother of man killed in action

For 12 years, veteran Corey Tibbets safeguarded the dog tags of Lance Cpl. Hector Ramos, who was killed when his helicopter crashed in Iraq in 2005.

Tibbets was part of the first unit on the scene, and when he found the dog tags, he made a promise to himself that he would one day get them to the fallen soldier's family. "I knew if it were my brother, it would mean everything to me to have that piece of him that he had on him at the end," Tibbets told NBC Chicago.

From his Texas home, Tibbets tracked down Ramos' brother, Iraq War veteran Noah Ramos, on Facebook, and sent him a message, letting Ramos know that he had something very important to give him. The pair recently met in Chicago, and Ramos said their friendship was instant. "Corey just went above and beyond — as a Marine would do — and I feel blessed he's in my life now," Ramos told NBC Chicago. "I got a piece of my brother back, I couldn't expect any more."

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