Illinois State Treasurer wants to return 11 Purple Hearts to proper owners
CHICAGO (CBS) — Veterans Day is Friday, and the Illinois State Treasurer’s office is on a mission to return 11 Purple Heart medals to their rightful owners.
The medallions all were found in abandoned safe deposit boxes.
Those boxes were under the following names, at the following banks
- Robert Cawthorn, from Fifth-Third Bank in Oak Park, turned over to the treasurer’s office in November 1992.
- Raymond Wilson, from Chicago Community Bank, and was turned over to the treasurer’s office in November 1995. Chicago Community Bank has since been sold.
- Lawrence M. Burns, from Advanced Bank in Homewood, turned over to the treasurer’s office in November 1997. It’s believed Mr. Burns lives in a remote area in California.
- Linda K. Moore, from National City Bank in Peoria, turned over to the treasurer’s office in October 2001.
- Bernice Smith, from MB Financial Bank in Oak Park, turned over to the treasurer’s office in November 2002.
- David Gorski, from Hinsbrook Bank & Trust in Darien, turned over to the treasurer’s office in October 2003.
- Vincent G. Tuttle, from Busey Bank in Pekin, turned over to the treasurer’s office in October 2018. The Purple Heart may have belonged to his father, Delbert Gleason Tuttle.
- Toni Alexander, from First Midwest Bank in Shorewood, turned over to the treasurer’s office in October 2018. The Purple Heart belonged to Charles J. Alexander, who earned it fighting in the Pacific in World War II.
- Isbell Servina, or Mary A. Shayer, or Vincent P. Shayer, turned over to the treasurer’s office in October 2018.
- Michelle Steward or Patricia VanHasselaere, of Round Lake, turned over to the treasurer’s office in October 2018.
- Kenneth Wiest, turned over to the treasurer’s office in October 2019. Wiest may have lived in O’Fallon in southern Illinois, about five miles from Scott Air Force Base.
“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,” Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs said in a statement.
Claims can be submitted at illinoistreasurer.gov/icash
