Relatives of an Illinois man who earned a Purple Heart in Vietnam have received the medal years after it was found in a safe deposit box at a bank that closed.
Private First Class Phillip Morris of Harvey received his Purple Heart Medal after being wounded in 1966. He received an honorable discharge in 1970 and returned to Harvey. Morris died in 1997.
Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs says the medal was in a safe deposit box that belonged to Morris' sister. It was surrendered to Frerichs' office in 2008 as unclaimed property. The office tracked down Morris' relatives using public records.
Frerichs gave the medal to Morris' daughter and grandson this week.
He says it's a "great honor" but the office still has more than 100 unclaimed military medals.
