Purple Heart Found In Abandoned Storage Locker In Woodland
WOODLAND (CBS13) — A purple heart was found in an abandoned storage locker in Woodland.
Now, the two men who found it are looking for the veteran's family to reunite them with the prestigious medal.
Brian Cox, of Davis, often buys abandoned storage lockers at auctions and sells what he finds, but he and his friend Paul Clark never imagined to stumble on this.
"We found a purple heart with the telegram saying their son had been killed in 1944," Cox said.
The purple heart has the name Robert W. Brown inscribed on the back.
The telegram is addressed to a Mrs. Bertha L. Brown and dated Sept. 21, 1944.
"It was kind of a surreal thing," Clark said. "Someone gave their life for that...we said we need to find the family."
Cox said he hasn't been able to contact the owner of the storage locker who apparently abruptly stopped making payments on the locker in woodland about a year ago.
But for Cox, whose father and grandfather were both in the military, returning the medal hits close to home.
"I know if it's my family, they may not even know about it, so that would be something I would want," he said.
The purple heart is given to U.S. service members who are wounded or killed in combat.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has described it as "the nation's oldest military award," and now this collector hopes the public can help reunite the respected medal to the Brown family.
"I don't want to profit," Cox said. "I want to make sure it gets back to who it belongs to."