Police in Seattle found a box of WWII medals and a photo of the hero who was awarded them in a dusty evidence room, but they need help ID'ing the man.
The discovery of a box of WWII-era military medals in an evidence room has sparked a mystery that the Seattle police hope the public can help unravel.
The medals--which include two bronze stars, one of which was for valor in combat--were discovered during routine inventory-taking at the evidence unit.
Also found was a photo of the hero himself, but officials have come up empty trying to find him or his surviving family, KOMO reports.
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SPD Evidence Unit detective Michael Whidbey has contacted staff at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, the US Army/Germany museum and International Military History Museum to get help ID'ing the man.
While intrigued, officials at the agencies had no information to offer Whidbey.
"Based on the medals and uniform insignia, we know his rank but not his name," Whidbey said in a SPD release.
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Detectives believe the likely retired as a colonel after serving in the XII Corp in Europe during World War II.
Now, the SPD has released photos of the medals and of their owner in the hope someone somewhere might recognize the man and help get the medals back in the rightful hands.
Anyone with information that could help police return the collection to the man or his family is urged to contact Detective Whidbey at michael.whidbey@seattle.gov or at 206-233-3890.
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