Overview
- Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs presented World War II rifleman James R. Bennett’s Purple Heart to niece Patti Knies at VFW Post 5220 in Oak Lawn after the medal surfaced in an unclaimed safe‑deposit box surrendered in 2022.
- Frerichs said the handover marked the 17th Purple Heart returned under Operation Purple Heart, with six more medals still awaiting identified families.
- Massachusetts Treasurer Deb Goldberg returned a Purple Heart to Vietnam veteran James Mooney of Everett after the Unclaimed Property Division located his medal in a forgotten deposit box.
- Officials in both states asked the public for leads to help identify heirs so additional recovered Purple Hearts can be reunited with veterans’ families.
- Unclaimed‑property programs say medals often end up in abandoned bank boxes and are difficult to trace because no comprehensive federal registry of Purple Heart recipients exists.