Medals in a forgotten bag

A bag of "treasure" was found in the Wise County, Texas, Sheriff's Department. It contained medals for heroism during World War II. For example, the famous Purple Heart, which is the oldest military decoration of the U.S. Armed Forces awarded in the name of the President, to wounded or killed soldiers after the 5th World War. April 1917.

The seized bags were subsequently found in the sheriff's office. "Often they are weapons of various kinds, such as knives. But occasionally we find something that takes our breath away," notes local Sheriff Lane Akin.

Recently, his assistant, Paige Dobyns, embarked on a major office cleanup and discovered a confiscated bag that had surprising contents. "It screamed that there were medals inside. And she immediately recognized the famous Purple Heart. My God, I had no idea I could have something like that in my office," Akin recalls.

Specifically, it was a small blue bag that contained seven military medals. According to sheriff's records, it was seized in 2014 during a narcotics trafficking investigation. "I don't really understand how they got into the hands of the dealers. Anyway, these are items that the original owner paid for with blood, sweat and tears. It's bad when they fall into the hands of criminals," Akin thinks.

So he and Dobyns decided to do everything they could to return the medals to the family of the fallen soldier. "I called the appropriate office of the office where they are in charge of veterans and said they just had to help me," Dobyns says.

In addition to the Purple Heart, the bag contained a Bronze Star, which was a single-stage decoration established during World War II in the U.S. only in February 1944. It was given to members of the armed forces for performing a brave act in combat against the enemy. It is one of the ten highest military decorations in the USA. The name Homer Stanger was on both of these medals in the bag.

Blake Walls and Laura Clark of the Veterans Affairs office found that he was an Army veteran from Illinois who served in the South Pacific. "He was a true World War II hero. He received three Bronze Stars, a Purple Heart and countless other medals. It's an extraordinary thing. There weren't many soldiers who had three Bronze Stars," Walls related what he and his colleague found out.

Stanger died in 1981. Using social media, Walls and Clark were able to find a woman who knew the soldier. "Stanger was her great uncle. She described him as a humble man who served his country. But how his medals made it to Texas, she doesn't know. So it remains a mystery," Walls said.

Source: www.wfaa.com