DECATUR, Ill. (WCIA) — After 24 years since its disappearance, a family from Central Illinois was reunited with a Purple Heart from World War II.

Private John L. Moore served in the United States Army in World War II. He survived the D-Day invasion, but he was hit with shrapnel in his wrist, knee and leg in a battle in France later that summer when he was 20 years old. For his injuries, Moore was awarded the Purple Heart.

After the war was over, Moore returned to Peoria working as a carpenter and roofer to provide for his five children. His Purple Heart was stored in a safe deposit box turned over to the state in 2001. He died of a heart attack in 2002.

Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs handed off the military medal to the veteran’s younger brother in a special ceremony in Decatur Wednesday.

“That kind of honor, that kind of heroism, it can’t be bought,” Frerichs said. “It’s earned.”

A reporter contacted Angie Holliger, Moore’s granddaughter, around a year ago to see if her family was missing a Purple Heart.

“When all of this started and my husband told me that Christy [Gutowski of the Chicago Tribune] had reached out to him, I thought it was a scam,” Holliger said. “So, I ignored it for a couple of weeks. And then he called Christy and talked to her and said, ‘no, you need to call Christy.'”

And after filling out some paperwork with the treasurer’s office, the medal now belongs to Moore’s younger brother Jerry.

“It does a lot for my heart to get this,” Jerry said. “And I really appreciate being honored with it.”

Jerry added he was close to his brother when he returned from war, and he also served in the Army.

Frerichs has returned 15 Purple Hearts to families since 2021. He claimed that’s the most by any statewide official in the country.

“We keep these in a vault in the basement of our building and these symbols of honor and heroism don’t deserve to be in a cold vault,” Frerichs said. “They deserve to be in the warm embrace of family.”

Moore’s family said he would be happy it’s been returned.

“He didn’t really talk about the war, but he did talk about the love of the country,” Holliger said. “He loved his country. So, you know, this day would have meant everything to him too.”

Frerichs said his office is still in possession of nine Purple Hearts. He said military medals are among the hardest pieces of unclaimed property to return as the medals are not engraved, no branch of the military keeps a list of members who were awarded a Purple Heart and there’s no distinguishing features to tell which conflict a Purple Heart was awarded in.

His office has a list of all the Purple Hearts that need to go back their rightful owners on their website.