DERRY, Pa. — The search is over in Montour County for the family of a World War II veteran who died in battle.
The Purple Heart belonging to Seaman First Class Albert Helt was found last month in a storage shed.
Now, the long-lost medal is back where it belongs with Helt's family.
“I’m honored to present this purple heart to you of your deceased uncle,” said Cary Rhodomyer with the Military Order of the Purple Heart.
“Thank you,” said Russell Helt, Jr.
It was the reunion Russell never expected.
The Purple Heart medal earned by his uncle, Seaman First Class Albert Helt, with the U.S. Naval Reserve, being placed into his hands.
Albert was killed in combat in 1945 during World War II.
Russell knew his uncle died serving his country but not that he had been honored for his sacrifice.
Reflecting on this new knowledge, Russell was overcome with emotion.
“It feels great,” he said as tears came to his eyes.
Albert’s medal was found in this abandoned storage unit by Dale Breech, who was hired to clean it out.
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Breech took the medal to the Montour County Veterans Affairs Office, where the two men working there began an immediate search to find the family it belonged to.
“When we first got it, I didn’t think we were ever going to locate it because all we had was a name,” said John Novak with Veterans Affairs. “But then after we started to get more and more information, the information kind of dovetailed together.”
The men eventually found Russell and gave him a call at his home near Harrisburg.
“I said now look, let’s make sure we have the right family before we go any further, so they started naming my brothers and sisters,” said Russell.
The Office of Veterans Affairs says getting the medal back to the family would not have been possible without all the overwhelming help from the public.
“We just started getting inundated with phone calls, and it’s just so heartwarming to find there’s so many people out there willing to help find relatives associated with this Purple Heart,” said Douglas Resseguie with Veterans Affairs.