Vyky

More than 1,500,000 Purple Hearts have been awarded to American servicemen and -females because Globe War Two. The medals are among the military's top honors and are usually found proudly displayed on uniforms, resting locations or in family members homes. They're not the type of products you'd count on to discover in a thrift shop-and when 1 not too long ago was, it sparked a cross-country effort.

Gene Dobos was browsing through a secondhand retailer in California when he came across a worn, heart-shaped medal mixed in with the knickknacks. It was a Purple Heart bearing the name "Frank N. Smith." Purple Hearts are awarded to American soldiers who are wounded by the enemy and to the next of kin of soldiers killed in action or who die from wounds received in battle. Dobos, who understood the significance of the medal, bought it from the shop and assisted set off a national search for its owner.

Dobos contacted the Military Order of the Purple Heart-an organization of combat veterans who perform to honor the medal and its recipients. They call themselves the "Keepers of the Medal." Ray Funderburk, the group's public relations chief-who is a Vietnam veteran with two Purple Hearts himself-researched the medal and ultimately discovered that Frank N. Smith was a private in the U.S. Army who died in Vietnam almost 40 years ago.

Smith, who was 20 at the time, was in a convoy that was ambushed on December 17, 1968-just two weeks just before he was scheduled to return to his property state of Ohio for very good.

Following studying Smith's story, Funderburk turned to an Ohio genealogist for assist in tracking down Smith's resting location and surviving family.

"It looks as if the medal has been handled many times," said Funderburk. "I envisioned his mom and dad taking the medal out and holding it in their hands, pondering of their son."

Eventually, Smith's grave was discovered in a cemetery not far from his childhood residence in Ohio. His parents had died, but his siblings have been discovered using e-mails they had sent memorializing their brother at an on-line registry for fallen Vietnam War troops. They did not know the medal had gone missing and were "overwhelmed" that a group of strangers had worked so difficult to return it to them.

Frank N. Smith was married and had a kid shortly before shipping off to Vietnam (he enlisted voluntarily). Following his death, his widow and daughter moved west, presumably taking the Purple Heart with them. It is not known how the medal landed in a thrift shop.

For Smith's sister Jonna, the return of the medal brought with it a flood of feelings-and she was not alone in her reaction. Funderburk, of the Purple Heart Order, was so inspired by the number of people who came together to return the medal to Smith's family members that he penned a poem. His son-in-law assisted him set the words to music and a CD was designed that is being sold. Proceeds help spend for a scholarship program that joins young folks with veterans who are bedridden and residing in Veteran Affairs facilities. team

The song's chorus reads:

Purple Hearts are won in battle grenades explode, machine guns rattle a soldier dies, a mother cries that's how Purple Hearts are won.

The Order and Smith's loved ones planned a little ceremony to be held in the cemetery. The Purple Heart will be encased in glass and attached to Smith's headstone.

Personal First Class Frank N. Smith's legacy will be noticed in every VA hospital in America as young folks move amongst the veterans and tell the story of a young man who left Seneca County, Ohio to defend freedom-and who ultimately got his medal.