Mark sends us link from the Syracuse.com which reports that Robyn DeCuffa will be recovering the Purple Heart medal that she had lost in a robbery years ago thinks to Purple Hearts Reunited.
Her father, Army Pfc. Thomas Edward McGraw, of North Syracuse, died in an ambush at age 19, among the first casualties of the Vietnam war from Onondaga County.
McGraw’s Purple Heart had been presented posthumously to her mother, who gave it to Robyn when she turned 18, along with the flag that had covered her father’s coffin. Years later the medal was stolen, and DeCuffa said she never thought she would see it again.
But thanks to the persistence of two strangers, the Purple Heart will be returned to DeCuffa and her family next month — 15 years after it was found by a fourth-grader at the Liverpool School District’s Willow Field Elementary School on Route 31.
Karen Galloway’s son found the medal and turned it into the school’s lost-and-found. Nobody claimed it after a year, so Galloway held onto it until Jan. 20, when she heard about the group Purple Hearts Reunited.
Found its way home. Good.
John, thanks for sharing. Purple Hearts Reunited is a big fan of this site and the work that you all do. Keep up the good fight!
Wonderful story.
And Thank You to Purple Hearts Reunited for the work that you do!
^^^ +1 ^^^
Great way to start the day, Jonn. Thanks for posting this.
Zach runs a good organization and a good show.
Keep up the good work.
Lt. Gen. Hal Moore said it right, “We Were Soldiers Once…And Young” – – – how young the late PFC Thomas Edward McGraw appears in the photo above.
Purple Hearts Reunited can stand tall – good job guys!
Just way cool and good!
Kudos to Karen Galloway and her son as well.
Semper Fi, ma’am and son.