Man searching for veteran’s family to return war medals, including Purple Heart

BY TANAE HOWARD

​​INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - It's a discovery that details years of dedication to our country.

A man found a shadow box full of war medals including a Purple Heart. Now, he wants to get the heroes medals back to where they belong.

"I'd just gotten my dad's keys from my sister. I went over to get the lawnmower out of the garage as I was getting the gas can, I saw the medals sitting back there behind some stuff," Steven Backus said.

Before Steven's father died in a crash two weeks ago, he told his son about a cool discovery he stumbled across.

"Remembered that he found them when he was scrapping one day. Someone threw them out in the trash. Don't know how they got there. Don't know if they were stolen or what or someone just didn't care about someone else's property and threw it out," Backus said.

A shadow box containing a Purple Heart, Korean War medals, and a combat infantrymen badge. The Purple Heart has the name James T. Smith on the back.

"You know this means the world to someone right here because they did all that time serving their country," Backus said.

Steven and his wife contacted us as soon as they found the medals hoping more exposure would help them track down this hero or his family. Their internet searches didn't get them very far. The hope is that these memories, this display of sacrifice and honor will be returned to the smith family.

"I know the person that had these cherished them more than likely and I'm sure they're missing them. If they're not around hopefully their family wants them."

Steven and his wife will take the medals to the Indiana War Museum if the owners don’t come forward soon.

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