WWII veteran's Purple Heart stolen in home invasion

APviaFOX ^ | 01/09/14 | AP via FOX

[Doogle]

LEICESTER, Mass.

[EagleUSA]

He’ll probably try and sell it to John Kerry for a hefty sum. (/s)

[originalbuckeye]

Hmmmmmm. Did one of the suspects have a long, puffy face and answer to the name John Kerry? Just asking. Those who did this should get extra time for attacking a man of our Greatest Generation.

[originalbuckeye]

Beat me by one second........

[NormsRevenge]

Punks, cheap punks, may they rot in a hell far worse than Iwojima in its days of death by family members that disappeared and died, the medal was all that was left behind.

Punks.

[OldNavyVet]

The DOD will probably replace it ... just ask.

[mountainlion]

Purple Hearts most of the time have the name of the precipitant engraved on the back.

[SandRat]

May Marine Vets use their burial site as an Outhouse.

[TheThirdRuffian]

“Purple Hearts most of the time have the name of the precipitant engraved on the back.”

Not mine. It was plastic and cheap.

But, hey, I served under Bush I and Clinton.

[mountainlion]

I got issued my second a couple years ago, 44 years late and it was the heavy (brass?) gold plated one with my name on the back. My first one was stolen by a kid that thought it was solid gold. It was issued in Viet Nam and did not have my name on it. You can request a reissue of decorations on the SF 180 and get a new set. Maybe they can afford brass now.

[TheThirdRuffian]

I think if you buy a replacement vs. what they handed out, you can get a nicer one.

I looked around and the full medal ones are $39.

Given that I am 20lbs too heavy for my dress blues, however, it’s not an issue. Ha.

[mountainlion]

I looked around and the full medal ones are $39.

I think you can get reissued twice with the SF180.

[Elsiejay]

I would suggest “awarded to” rather than “earned by.”

Just sayin.....

[angelsonmyside]

“The DOD will probably replace it ... just ask.”

When my Father-In-Law passed away, my Husband was unable to find his Dad’s Silver Star Medal he had been awarded from the Korean War. You really think they might replaced it? If so any clues who we could contact?

[OldNavyVet]

When my brother passed away, I knew he'd been awarded three Bronze Stars, so I asked some authority for copies of his citations. The reponse wasn't the citations; the government sent me an entire collection of his medals.

Your congressman might help you get the collection.

[angelsonmyside]

Thank you so much...That would be wonderful to replace all of his Medals. He knocked out a Machine Gun nest while his company was pinned down was the reason for the Silver Star in Korea.

He was also a POW for 3 years in Germany but not even sure what all he got from that. I was able to find some information on the Camp where he was kept as a prisoner but it does not tell much more that his location, name, rank, dates and such.

[OldNavyVet]

I have a friend who was a POW at Buchenwald. Quite a story there; especially one about US POWs being moved from camp to camp in wintertime. During the march, German orders where to shoot anyone that dropped ... and that incuded any German guard that dropped.

[TheThirdRuffian]

“I think you can get reissued twice with the SF180.”

Well, they is still the 20lbs issue.

I honestly just boxed all my crap up and stuck in the attic years ago. I used my DD214 to prove my social security number one time, and that’s about the extent of my use for it all.

[mountainlion]

I might be a good idea to go to the VA and get a Veterans ID card. If you ever need medical treatment you can get treated by the VA. They flew me to Washington state for treatment of Prostate cancer. If you have insurance they will treat you with no co pay. You can go around obamacare through the VA also. You may not be interested about this but maybe someone reading this might be interested.

[TheThirdRuffian]

Nah, I have good medical care and am getting old.

I may get my step-son to do that, though.

He was injured twice in Afganistan (IED and also shot) and has back problems because of it, I am convinced. He’s extremely tall, so that might be the cause, but having a Humvee roll over and over with him inside probably didn’t help.