Lost & Found: War Medals Returned To WWI Veteran's Grandson
TEWKSBURY (CBS) -- A Tewksbury man received a special honor just days before Veterans Day. On Friday, David Liberman, the grandson of World War I veteran Sgt. Gaetano 'Joe' Alferi, received his grandfather's lost medals, including his Purple Heart.
According to the Purple Hearts Reunited Foundation, a nonprofit that returns lost medals to family members, Alferi enrolled in the U.S. Army in 1917.
"During the war, he was wounded and received Purple Heart #90. This is the earliest Purple Heart that Purple Hearts Reunited has seen, minus Purple Heart #1 presented to General Douglas MacArthur. He was also awarded the Silver Star for bravery in action," said the organization.
Alferi would return from the war, get married and become a father to one daughter. He died Sept. 3, 1981.
Alferi's medals were discovered in Lynn, Massachusetts. They were returned to surviving family members at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.