EAST LONGMEADOW – A veteran left a very special hat at the Center Square Grill in East Longmeadow, and now the search is on to return it.

General Manager Kim Hulslander noticed the hat in the lost and found at the podium at the front of the restaurant about two weeks ago.

Rather than a run-of the mill ball cap, this was a black hat with a white eagle design and the word Marines embroidered across the front. But what made the hat special was the dozen pins, each representing a military medal, that had been added to the sides of the cap.

“My dad was in WWII, so I kinda took notice,” Hulslander said.

Since the hat was found, people have shared the hat across local Facebook forums and on the restaurant’s page trying to find the owner.

Hulslander said Bill Collins, the owner of the Center Square Grill, brought the story to the attention of WWLP in an effort to get the word out. The story has since appeared on Western Mass News and Pioneer Valley Radio.

Unfortunately, no one has come forward to claim the hat. Hulslander hasn’t lost hope, though.

“We’ll get it back to him,” Hulslander said of the hat, although it is unknown whether the owner is a man or woman.

The pins on the left side of the hat are: a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart, a United States Navy & Marine Corp Commendation Medal, a Republic Of Vietnam Wound Medal, a Marine Good Conduct Medal, a National Defense Service Medal, a Armed Forces Expeditionary Services Medal, a Vietnam Service Medal, and Republic Of Vietnam Campaign Medal.

On the right side there are two pins: a 50th Anniversary Vietnam War Veteran Commemorative pin and a '66 Vietnam pin.

Anyone with information about the owner of the hat should call the Center Square Grill at 525-0055.