Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs is on a mission to return 11 Purple Hearts to their rightful owners in an effort he calls Operation Purple Heart.
The military honors were submitted to the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office for safekeeping and return as part of the Unclaimed Property program, also known as I-Cash or missing money.
“These medals personify honor, sacrifice, and duty,” Frerichs said. “They belong in the loving care of families rather than hidden inside our cold basement vault.”
Military medals are among the most difficult items to return because the name under which the honor was submitted as unclaimed property might not correspond to the name of the honoree. Neither the armed forces nor the federal government maintains a comprehensive list of awardees.
It is possible that the military honor under which the medal was submitted is not related to the awardee. In an effort to find the rightful owners, the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office is releasing a limited amount of information that the owners or their relatives might recognize:
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Last names and last known cities connected to the family that rented the safe deposit box containing the Purple Heart medal: Cawthon, Received, Nov. 1, 1992, Portland, Oregon Wilson, Received, Nov. 13, 1995, Chicago Burns, Received, Nov. 5, 1997, Homewood Moore, Received, Oct. 17, 2001, Peoria Smith, Received, Nov. 18, 2002, Oak Park Gorski, Received, Oct. 30, 2003, Darien Tuttle, Received, Oct. 25, 2018, Decatur Alexander, Received, Oct. 26, 2018, Channahon Isbell or Shayer, Received, Oct. 31, 2018, Chicago Steward or VanHasselaere, Received, Oct. 31, 2018, Round Lake Wiest, Received, Oct. 23, 2019, O’Fallon.
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The honors were secured in a bank safe deposit box and untouched for several years before being submitted to the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office. Also, given mergers and acquisitions, it is possible the name of the bank changed throughout the years.
‘Our ask is simple. If you recognize a name, and you know they lived in the city, then reach out to them because maybe we have their Purple Heart,” added Frerichs.
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A thorough vetting of inquiries will occur once an electronic claim is made here. Misrepresenting oneself in an effort to recover unclaimed property is a crime, will not be tolerated, and the state treasurer’s office will seek prosecution to the fullest extent of the law.
Since 2015, the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office has successfully reunited seven Purple Hearts with their owners or heirs.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.