Sacramento — Sacramento collectors and historians say the Purple Heart is gone. He knows who has it but he can’t get it back and he decides to ask Kurtis Ming to investigate.
The Purple Heart is the oldest military medal in the United States, dating back to the time of George Washington. It has been awarded nearly two million times to those who have been wounded or killed fighting for our country. Our viewers are retired and working to preserve World War II history.
“This is my passion. ‘Purple hearts tell stories. Tell stories of sacrifice.’
Tens of thousands of military medals are thought to be lost, stolen, or simply forgotten.
John finds them, researches the heroes who got them, and publishes stories on social media.
This medal was awarded to Private Ira Fonter, who was wounded during combat in Italy.
But the Purple Heart that John bought on eBay didn’t fit his collection at all.
“Most of them are from fallen soldiers,” he said. “It just didn’t mesh with what I had.”
But his friend in Iowa also collects Purple Hearts, so I mailed it to him.
Unfortunately, all I received was an empty flat package stamped with “received without contents”.
And what happened to the medals?
The answer will appear in an Internet search two months later. West said in an article that the Virginia sheriff turned Purple’s heart over to the local American Corps, it had been “lost in the mail for a very long time.”
The American Legion is a service organization that works to return found military medals to surviving families. However, the West Virginia branch says this particular soldier’s family had no interest in reclaiming it.
“I want my medals back,” said former Sacramento Sheriff’s Deputy John, who said neither the West Virginia sheriff nor the U.S. Corps would return the medals to him or his friends.
I wondered about trading military medals. Congress learned he made it a crime to sell the Purple Heart under the Stolen Valor Act of 2005.
“This is truly a tragedy,” said Col. Russ Vernon, executive director of the National Purple Heart Honorary Mission, saying the medal should stay in the family, not in private collections.
“Medals are what the winners get,” he said. “They should not be bought and sold.”
If his family cannot be found, he believes the medal should be sent to a military organization like his.
All parties want to protect the medals, but disagree on how to do so.
“I bring their stories and sacrifices to life,” John said.
Regardless of where it ends, this Veterans Day, John posted a photo of the purple heart of private Ira Fortner and the story of his sacrifice.
“These stories are lost to time,” he said.
CBS13 also tried to find the bereaved family of Private Fortner. His only son died.
After contacting the American Corps, John says they are discussing how best to preserve this medal.
Another charity called Purple Hearts Reunited maintains a database of medals reported lost and would like to contact anyone who finds them.