A Whanganui born man has been reunited with his Royal New Zealand Navy ID card after he lost it while in Pearl Harbour, Hawaii 50 years ago.

Nigel Foster and his recovered ID card. Source: Supplied

Nigel Foster served in the NZ Navy between 1963 and 1972, joining because he "wanted an interesting job and a different life."

Mr Foster was serving as a junior recruit in the electrical department when aboard the HMNZ Otago that stopped in Pearl Harbour for refuelling in 1968.

He still remembers how he lost his ID card.

"I was helping to load ship supplies. I took off my shirt because it was a hot day and when I put my shirt back on the ID card was gone," Mr Foster told 1 NEWS.

Nigel Foster's Royal New Zealand Navy ID card. Source: Supplied

That was where Mr Foster thought the story would end, until the Royal New Zealand Navy posted a picture of his newly found ID on its Facebook page last week asking for help to track down its owner.

The post attracted a lot of attention and Mr Foster was happy to hear of the discovery and was "amazed" it was found in such good condition.

Nigel Foster and his wife Lynne at home in Auckland. Source: Supplied

The card was dredged up from the waters of Pearl Harbour by Charles Morton who was part of a team removing unexploded ordnance from the area.

"The harbour is dredged frequently, so we find lots of stuff," Mr Morton said.

"We find coffee cups, mess trays, silverware, tools, dozens of lead weights from fishing nets and the occasional ID tag, which are forwarded to the Navy to be returned to their owners or next of kin."