(KTEN) — A piece of Sherman history showed up in an unexpected place: The South Pacific.

Gaylon Wampler was snorkeling off the coast of Vanuatu — an island some 7,200 miles distant from Grayson County — when he spotted a glass bottle sticking out of the mud.  When he pulled it out, he found a familiar green glass Coca-Cola bottle.

On the bottom of the container were the words SHERMAN TEX.

The bottom of a vintage Coke bottle found in Vanuatu bears the words SHERMAN TEX.
The bottom of a vintage Coke bottle found in Vanuatu bears the words SHERMAN TEX. (KTEN)

 Wampler estimates the bottle was made in 1945.

"My wife and I were sitting there on the beach, cleaning it up — you couldn't hardly read anything — and then I cleaned the bottom part and saw that, and I was like, 'Whoa, that's incredible!'"

The bottles came from a World War II U.S. Army base. When the troops left, they dumped vehicles, clothes, and food into the ocean, including unopened cases of Coca-Cola.

 Vanuatu is located in the South Pacific. (Google Maps)