CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois officials hope to return nearly 200 forgotten war medals and other military artifacts to their rightful owners.
CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois officials hope to return nearly 200 forgotten war medals and other military artifacts to their rightful owners.
Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford announced the project — called Operation Reunite — on Friday, Veterans Day.
Former Illinois State Rep. Ron Stephens, a Highland Republican and a Bronze Star and Purple Heart recipient, is the project’s honorary chairman.
The treasurer’s office takes care of the military artifacts, storing them in a vault beneath the Capitol.
Many items ended up there because they were stored in a family safety deposit box and forgotten. Banks eventually turn over the contents of neglected safety deposit boxes to the treasurer’s office.
A list of names connected to the medals, dog tags, ribbons and service records is available on the treasurer’s website.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
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