Lost Purple Heart returned to family of WWI vet 100 years later

By Matt Saintsing
via the ConnectingVets.com web site

It’s said to be the military award nobody wants. That’s because a Purple Heart is earned only through the bloodshed of war, which is also why the medal is so highly respected by all who see it pinned on anyone’s chest.

Hish (l to r) United States World War I Centennial Commission Veteran Liaison David Hamon assists, as grandson Joseph Hish IV and son Joseph Mark Hish III are presented the Purple Heart Medal earned by Private First Class Joseph Hish, who was wounded by mustard gas during World War I. (Photo by Matt Saintsing, ConnectingVets.com)Over 1.8 million Purple Hearts have been awarded to American service members injured in combat, but over time, these medals can turn up lost, stolen or otherwise misplaced. That's why Purple Hearts Reunited has made it their mission to reconnect these symbols of sacrifice to the medal's rightful owner, or surviving families.

Through research, Zachariah Fike, the group’s founder, is said to be able to track anyone down, especially if it means returning a long lost honor. A ceremony in Washington, D.C Tuesday, proved just that when they presented seven Purple Hearts to surviving family members of World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam veterans and another to a living veteran of the Iraq War.

Private First Class Joseph Hish, was one of those honored.

He fought in World War I with Company A, 341st Machine Gun Battalion, 177th Brigade of the 89th Infantry Division, and fought during the Meuse-Argonne offensive, a 47-day battle that lasted from the end of September 1918 to Armistice Day, November 11. Pfc. Hish earned the Purple Heart when his unit was attacked with sulfur mustard, commonly known as mustard gas.

Hish survived World War I and lived a full life until he passed away on December 29, 1965, in Sioux City, Iowa. He was 70 years old.

Read the entire article on the ConnectingVets.com web site.

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