10 Purple Hearts Returned in
Unprecedented Mission To Honor Soldiers and Bring
Closure to Families; Four Additional Purple Hearts Turned
Over for Safekeeping Until They Can Be Returned
CHICAGO, May 23, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- As Memorial Day approaches, Illinois State
Treasurer Michael Frerichs is urging
people to help with Operation Purple Heart, an unprecedented
mission to return Purple Heart medals to their rightful owners.
Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs is urging people to help return
Purple Heart medals to their rightful owners.
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, duty. We call today on
the citizens of Illinois to help
us return these medals into the loving care of their families,"
Frerichs said.
The Treasurer's Office hopes upcoming remembrances to honor
Memorial Day will spark a memory or provide a clue so that these
medals can be returned. Frerichs' office has an unparalleled record
in returning military honors, especially 10 Purple Heart medals.
Four additional Purple Heart medals have been received by the
office.
"Our ask is simple. If you recognize a name, and you know they
had contact with the city, then reach out to them or their
relatives because maybe we have their Purple Heart," Frerichs said.
"You also can reach out to my office through
operationpurpleheart.org."
Military medals are among the most difficult items to return
because neither the Armed Forces nor the federal government
maintains a comprehensive list of awardees.
In an effort to find the rightful owners, the Illinois State
Treasurer's Office is releasing additional information that the
owners or their relatives might recognize. A thorough vetting of
inquiries will occur once an electronic claim is made at
www.illinoistreasurer.gov/icash.
Each of the Purple Heart medals was inside a bank safe deposit
box. Banks determined the safe deposit box was abandoned because
the owner(s) of the box had not touched it in several years. As a
result, the contents of each safe deposit box were turned over to
the State Treasurer's Office.
A list of Purple Hearts to be returned and the 10 that have been
returned is available online. Video from today's press conference
will be available here.
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SOURCE Illinois State Treasurer's Office