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Link to original article.
A bit more on the sinking of the USS Drexler here and here.
"Olin White was just a teenager when he received his first Purple Heart in 1943. He likely would have received another had he not been aboard the USS Drexler during World War II when two Japanese kamikaze pilots crashed into the ship, sinking it in under a minute.
White was one of 333 soldiers onboard the Drexler on May 23, 1945, and also one of the 183 who sunk with it. White’s body, like the rest of the sailors who died that day, was never found.
Now, almost 70 years later, the Purple Heart White received just two years before his death surfaced in a box of family memorabilia at a Jacksonville home. The only problem was the prestigious medal didn’t belong to the family who found it.
“I contacted everybody in the family and nobody knew who (Olin White) was,” said Debera Allen, the woman who found the Purple Heart in her family home. “That (Purple Heart) represented a life for our country and I didn’t want anything to happen to it.”
Allen said she began calling veterans organizations around town to see if anyone could help her find the owner. Someone suggested she call the Military Order of the Purple Heart, and that’s how she got in contact with John Cooney, adjutant for the Beirut Chapter of MOPH.
Cooney picked up the Purple Heart from Allen’s home and promised Allen they would do everything they could to find the family. He asked the MOPH members if anyone wanted to take on the project, and Dan Stoy, sergeant at arms for the MOPH, jumped at the opportunity.
“I kind of felt a connection to it,” Stoy said. “I’m a three time Purple Heart recipient and just to be able to take this and search for the person’s family ... it’s an honor. I’d like to think that somebody would be able to do the same for me later on down the road.” "
A bit more on the sinking of the USS Drexler here and here.
"Olin White was just a teenager when he received his first Purple Heart in 1943. He likely would have received another had he not been aboard the USS Drexler during World War II when two Japanese kamikaze pilots crashed into the ship, sinking it in under a minute.
White was one of 333 soldiers onboard the Drexler on May 23, 1945, and also one of the 183 who sunk with it. White’s body, like the rest of the sailors who died that day, was never found.
Now, almost 70 years later, the Purple Heart White received just two years before his death surfaced in a box of family memorabilia at a Jacksonville home. The only problem was the prestigious medal didn’t belong to the family who found it.
“I contacted everybody in the family and nobody knew who (Olin White) was,” said Debera Allen, the woman who found the Purple Heart in her family home. “That (Purple Heart) represented a life for our country and I didn’t want anything to happen to it.”
Allen said she began calling veterans organizations around town to see if anyone could help her find the owner. Someone suggested she call the Military Order of the Purple Heart, and that’s how she got in contact with John Cooney, adjutant for the Beirut Chapter of MOPH.
Cooney picked up the Purple Heart from Allen’s home and promised Allen they would do everything they could to find the family. He asked the MOPH members if anyone wanted to take on the project, and Dan Stoy, sergeant at arms for the MOPH, jumped at the opportunity.
“I kind of felt a connection to it,” Stoy said. “I’m a three time Purple Heart recipient and just to be able to take this and search for the person’s family ... it’s an honor. I’d like to think that somebody would be able to do the same for me later on down the road.” "