Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs has launched Operation Purple Heart, an unprecedented mission to return 11 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, and duty,” Frerichs said. “They belong in the loving care of families rather than hidden inside our cold basement vault.”
The treasurer’s office hopes attention to the upcoming Veterans Day celebrations and tributes 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 the Purple Heart. (A full list is below.)
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. Further, neither the Armed Forces nor the federal government maintains a comprehensive list of awardees. Finally, 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. A thorough vetting of inquiries will occur once an electronic claim is made at www.illinoistreasurer.gov/icash.
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, especially with regard to military honors.
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
“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,” Frerichs said.
These 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.
Since 2015, the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office has successfully reunited seven Purple Hearts with their owners or heirs. It did so through an internal investigatory process and the office is required by law to try to return unclaimed property no matter how long it takes. Private entities holding abandoned or misplaced property are not compelled to try to identify nor locate the owner.
The Illinois State Treasurer’s Office safeguards $3.5 billion in unclaimed property. Typically, a bank account, investment product, or contents of a safe deposit box is turned over to the treasurer’s office if there is no activity for three years. Unclaimed property is submitted twice each year; financial institutions in the fall and non-financial institutions, such as business associations, utilities and life insurance companies, in the spring.
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