MARION, Ill. – An Illinois family has been reunited with a deceased World War II veterans military honors that had been missing for several years.
During a dedicated event at VFW Post 1301 in Marion last week, Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs presented a recovered Purple Heart and additional medals to the family of the late Stephen J. Grabowski.
Grabowski, originally from Chicago and the child of Polish immigrants, served in the European front during World War II. As an Army Private, he was a member of Company B, 473rd Infantry, acting as a rifleman.
On April 15, 1945, at age 27, Grabowski took part in Operation Grapeshot, a major Allied offensive concluding the Italian Campaign. A German grenade struck the bunker he occupied, leaving him buried under rubble and resulting in paralysis from the waist down.
Germany capitulated less than a month later; Japan surrendered in August.
Grabowski returned home and lived at Hones VA Hospital. He died of kidney failure in 1974. He was 56.
After Grabowski’s death, his military honors were stored in a safe deposit box owned his oldest nephew.
The contents of a safe deposit box remained untouched for numerous years until they were handed over to the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office in 2010 as unclaimed assets. The treasurer is responsible for safeguarding such assets—including bank accounts, life insurance payouts, and uncased rebate checks—until they can be returned to their rightful owners, regardless of the time it takes.
The treasurer noted that military decorations are particularly challenging to return since no exhaustive registry of recipients is kept by either the Armed Forces or the federal government. Often, it’s difficult to identify which conflict a medal like the Purple Heart is connected to.
Unable to reclaim the medals, Grabowski’s nephew, who resides in a Chicago nursing home and is in frail health, prompted the treasurer’s office to locate Grabowski’s grandniece, Crystal Cantrell. Living near Marion, she was then able to receive the awards.
On Aug. 21, Treasurer Frerichs turned over Grabowski’s Purple Heart; Bronze Star; European, African, Middle Eastern Campaign medals; Good Conduct medal; American Campaign medal; and World War II Victory medal.
“Private Grabowski sacrificed a great deal to stop an evil dictator and ensure a free world,” Frerichs said. “It is never too late to honor the sacrifices of the Greatest Generation.”
