WASHINGTON — Purple Heart Day has been a national day of recognition for over 200 years. When servicemen and women are wounded or killed in combat, they are awarded a Purple Heart Medal, the nation’s first medal of honor.
Since 1782, 1.8 million men and women have received the posthumous award. But some medals have been lost, misplaced or stolen . The Purple Heart Reunited organization has a mission of finding lost medals and returning them to families. The team has returned 500 medals across the United States.
Eight families were reunited Tuesday with their loved one’s lost Purple Heart Medals during a special Purple Heart Day ceremony to commemorate their military heroes sacrifice to our country.
Please contact the Purple Heart Reunited organization to report the location of a lost or stolen Purple Heart or if you need help locating a medal of a family member.