Robert Wilson first spotted the photo in the back room of a Jackson resale shop.
"I just saw it sitting there," says Wilson, "so I snatched it up and added it to my military collection."
For the past two years, the photo of the Marine hung on his wall, but then, he got to thinking.
"When we moved I unpacked it and decided it might be better with the family," says Wilson.
So, he posted the photo on Facebook.
"And it just went nuts," he says.
The post went viral. Thanks to all of those shares and comments, it wasn't long before the family of the mystery veteran saw the photo.
"I kept looking at it and looking and it and I'm like 'Oh my god, that's my Uncle Jerry," says Teri Dupuis from Port Huron.
It was a shocking discovery because the family didn't even realize that the photo of Michigan veteran Jerry Dupuis was missing
"After he passed away, they had an estate sale," she told me over the phone.
Dupuis says the family thinks the photo must have gotten separated that way.
Her reaction?
"Just crazy," she says, "I was just like "Oh my god.'"
The World War II veteran had died four years ago, so for Niece Teri and the family, it was an emotional connection.
"We all think...this might have been my Uncle Jerry saying: 'Hey, you know I'm still here, I'm still watching over you,'" she says.
The family is thankful, and for Robert Wilson, it was almost a duty to reunite the veteran and his family.
"He needs to be back with the family," he says.
Wilson is planning to send the photo to Teri in Port Huron.
