Treasurer Frerichs Returns Lost Purple Heart, Bronze Star to Family of Late Chicago Soldier (Marion, IL) – Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs on Thursday reunited the family of a World War II veteran with long-lost military honors, including a Purple Heart and Bronze Star, during an emotional ceremony at VFW Post 1301 in Marion.
The medals belonged to Army Pvt. Stephen J. Grabowski, a Chicago native who was wounded in combat during the final days of the war in Italy. His grand-niece, Chrystal Cantrell of Marion, accepted the medals on behalf of the family.
“Private Grabowski sacrificed a great deal to stop an evil dictator and ensure a free world,” Frerichs said. “It is never too late to honor the sacrifices of the Greatest Generation.”
Grabowski, the son of Polish immigrants, was a rifleman in Company B, 473rd Infantry during Operation Grapeshot, the Allies’ last offensive in Italy. On April 15, 1945, a German grenade buried him in debris, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. He returned home after the war and lived at Hines VA Hospital until his death in 1974 at age 56.
In addition to the Purple Heart and Bronze Star, Frerichs returned Grabowski’s European, African, Middle Eastern Campaign medal; Good Conduct medal; American Campaign medal; and World War II Victory medal. The awards had been stored in a Chicago bank safe deposit box owned by Grabowski’s nephew. When the box went unclaimed, its contents were turned over to the treasurer’s office in 2010.
Thursday’s presentation marked the 16th return under Operation Purple Heart, a program launched by Frerichs to reunite misplaced medals with veterans or their families. Military medals are among the hardest unclaimed items to return, as there is no complete federal database of recipients.
Cantrell said receiving her great-uncle’s medals was a powerful reminder of the price paid by his generation. “Knowing the sacrifices my great uncle and so many others made on behalf of this country is amazing,” she said. “We must always remember we enjoy the freedoms we have because someone else stood up and did the right thing.”
The Illinois Treasurer’s Office safeguards unclaimed property ranging from bank accounts to safe deposit contents until rightful owners or heirs can be located. Frerichs urged families to check whether their loved ones’ medals remain unclaimed at operationpurpleheart.org.
“These honors deserve to be in the loving hands of families, not the cold, dark vault of my safe,” Frerichs said.
Video will be posted here: https://cms.illinois.gov/
Treasurer Frerichs Returns Lost Purple Heart, Bronze Star to Family of Late Chicago Soldier
