INCREDIBLE, one of a kind item found at a thrift store! Military!

[planejet42]

Yesterday, I went to a local thrift store to look around and see what they had. I got there a little before they closed and just had enough time to look around. All the way at the end of a row of glass display cases I saw a box marked "Purple Heart". I didn't have to time to investigate or purchase it. I couldn't sleep that night because curiosity was burning inside me. I ended up going back today, (12-3-12), and purchased it for $6.56!!!! The Purple Heart dates from WWII, but that's not the best part. On the back of the Purple Heart was a name. When I got home I quickly looked up the name on the internet and came up with a ton of information. The soldiers name, which was engraved on the back, was Frank J. Gmeiner. It turns out he was born on March 22, 1922 in Cleveland, Ohio (the city I live in) and was K.I.A. on December 10, 1944 in France. That alone was enough to make me incredibly pleased with my purchase. I did more research and found a couple pictures of the young soldier and learned what regiment and division he belonged to. I then looked to find out what battles were taking place in France at the time of his death. I came up with "The Battle of Sigolsheim" which began on December 9th, 1944 and carried on for a few days to my understanding. The date of his death and the date the battle match up, so I believe he was killed then. I now feel it is my duty to return this treasure to the family members. It may take a long time, but in the end I completely believe it will be worth it. Some things that make me scratch my head are why it would be at a thrift shop in the first place? Was it stolen from the family? Is it a lost piece of their heritage? I would doubt the family would have donated it because of the fact that it is part of their history and that it also has the man's full name on it. I plan on going down to probate court and try to search through old records to try to get some contact numbers for family members. Please wish me luck in this long, but incredibly interesting journey. If anyone has and tips or ideas PLEASE comment. Thanks.

 

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[cti4sw]

Ask the military. If you explain the situation, they may assist you in finding the family. As might the VA, American Legion, VFW, or other veterans organizations.

They might be your best bet anyway, since his survivors may not live in the area (anymore).

 

[planejet42]

How would I go about doing so?

 

[Gunrunner61]

Planejet42,
However your hunt for the family turns out good or bad, I just wanted to say thankyou for your efforts. You are right it is a part of their families history and needs to be returned to them, Some people would put it in a case to show.......Thank you for being an honest and Just man.
.................................HH

 

[planejet42]

Thank you for your kind words. I appreciate it.

 

[BosnMate]

I think you are looking for people who have already passed. It was WWII, he was killed and the award was probably given to his mother. So by now the mother and father are gone, if he had lived he would be in his 90's now, but he's gone, so that leaves the two brothers who are in or close to their 80's or 90's, and the odds they are also gone. The medal probably got to where you found it because it was in an estate being liquidated. You will be looking for nieces or nephews that are in their 60's or 70's, or perhaps even their kids, who if there are any, might very well have let the medal go, so you have your work cut out. I hate to rain on your parade, but it's just the facts. However, if you want to check into it further, you might check with the Military Order of the Purple Heart, they might be able to help you out, or at least handle the medal and information with the reverence it's due. A WWII friend of mine recently passed away, he was a purple heart veteran of the Pacific. No kids, wife gone, closest relatives were a niece and nephew considerably younger than I. He had brought his model 1911 ACP home with him, along with the holster and web belt, and the boy got that, which is all he wanted. The girl took everything else to the dump, including a Japanese battle flag and other relics. It never ceases to amaze me that people will take things like that, that they have no interest in, but are worth some money to others, and just throw it in the dump.

 

[planejet42]

I considered that. I just think it's wrong to get rid of something with a person's name on it. It might as well be the last item in existence that has anything to with the soldier. I'll have to check into that. Sorry to hear about your friend and the items that were lost. My great grandfather fought in both WWI and WWII and my grandmother threw out most of his stuff, which not only had value to our family, but value as a piece of military history. All we have left is his 1911 ACP from WWI. Thanks for taking the time to comment.

 

[River Rat]

As a retired 28 yr veteran & member of AM Legion & Amvets...

I really don't know what to say...it tears my heart apart & tears drip from my eyes. I'm so sad to know that an honorable soldier's PH was even found in a thrift shop. How it got there, I have no clue. If family member "lost" & it was quote "accidentally" placed in donations to thrift shop...I could understand. But, to the person at the thrift shop to not even care to what it was, not to even look at name & try to get it back to family & to top it all off & put a price tag on it. This is what cooks my goose. Put a price tag on it PFC Gmeiner paid the price for it. If the family did not want...to pass down to others in the family, it should of been donated to Amvets, American Legion in his memory. This is my opinion.

Planejet42, thank you for "rescuing" and the excellent research. As a veteran, IMHO if I were able to track down a family member, the 1st question asked would be how it come about to be found in a thrift store.

 

[planejet42]

Thank you so much for your kind, sincere words. They mean so much to me. It breaks my heart as well. At the beginning, I didn't think much of it, but as I dug deeper into the life of PFC Gmeiner, I felt as if I had known him before hand. He gave his life for this country, only to be forgotten and left in a thrift shop for anyone to come along and purchase. I'm glad I "rescued" it before something worse happened to it. Thanks again.

 

[Tnmountains]

....

 

[Tnmountains]

Just seeing that box brings back memories of my Dad. We have all his medals. They were the Greatest Generation. Good luck on your journey sir.

 

[planejet42]

Thanks. I'm glad you have all his medals to admire and pass down.

 

[Tnmountains]

Planejet we did more than that we had his flight diary and we tracked every bombing mission and plane he flew in. He did 33 bombing missions in the 8th air corp. We put it all to a DVD for the following generations. Thank you sir.

 

[GPS53]

Thank you for what you are doing, when my ex-father in law passed they put his house up for sale, I had still stayed on fairly good terms with the family so my Dad and I went to help go through some of his stuff.
My Dad was looking in a garbage can and found his Silver Star medal from the Battle of the Bulge in WWII, my Dad is a Korean war vet and knew what is was, he grabbed it and still has it.
My daughter also served in the military and Dad is going to give it her in memory of her Grandfather.
Some people just don`t know what our vets went through to receive these honors.
Hope you can return that Purple Heart to the family.

 

[Mackaydon]

Pfc. Frank J. Gmeiner (KIA 10 Dec. '44) in the middle.

Suggestion: Contact the post, tell them the story and ask if they have a current contact for this hero--or can they refer you to someone who may have a 'next of kin' contact.
Here's their info. Good luck !
Phone: 816-756-3390
Organization Email: [email protected]
Address: 5349 Dolloff Rd , Cleveland, OH 44127, United States
Website: www.vfw.org | http://emem.vfw.org/findpost.aspx

 

[Fix]

That's unbelievable. I'm glad you're going to return it. I'd be obsessed with finding the family if it was me.
Keep us posted. Good luck!!

 

[70monte68]

I am not a veteran but honor those who have and do. As stated this young man gave his life, thank you for doing the right thing!

 

[Bev]

I can't wait to see the updates to this thread. I agree to contact the media to help with your search. The news needs to report stories like this one if you can reunite it with an appreciative relative. Thank you for sharing this story.

 

[Iron Patch]

Not really the type of thing that should sit on a shelf with a $6.56 price tag, so you did well.

You know his father was also named Frank so maybe research him, would probably be more detailed information. (names of sons and daughters, especially other sons)

 

[swampgal]

I always use the Military forums and Ancestry to locate relatives of items of Military. Do his family tree on Ancestry.com if he was married you can pull his children's birth records. And give it to a descendent who cares. It may have been stolen and sold for cash or the family may have gotten rid of it either way there will be a family researcher grandchild or someone who would love the information and Purple Heart of their brave family member . I would love to find things like this on my family. I collect all I can on The Texas Lost Battalion and the Battan Death march because I have a Uncle who was a member of the Texas Lost Battalion and walked the death march.