ABOUT OPERATION REUNITE

The Unclaimed Property Division of the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office presently has in its care nearly 200 items belonging to past and present servicemen and women. These items include military medals, artifacts, ribbons, and awards spanning more than a century of American conflict. One military medal even dates back to the Spanish American War circa 1898. Other priceless items include service records, dog tags and commendations from World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

MISSION

It is the goal of the Illinois State Treasurer's Office to reunite these very important military medals and awards with the men and women who earned them through their great sacrifice and service. The staff of the State Treasurer's Office is proud to undertake this project and hopes to reunite all the awards with their rightful owners.

WHERE DID THESE MEDALS AND AWARDS COME FROM?

The Illinois State Treasurer’s Office came to be the caretaker of these medals and military artifacts after they were lost, misplaced or forgotten. Often, a veteran of the armed forces or a family member has stored these objects in a bank’s safe deposit box and then forgotten about them. A nephew of a World War II serviceperson, for example, may have stored his uncle’s military commendations in a safe deposit box and later passed away, leaving no record for family to recover the items from the secure place. In time, the bank or financial institution relinquishes stewardship of this particular box to the State of Illinois, and more specifically, the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office. The treasurer then serves as the custodian for these items, storing and protecting them in the state vault under the Capitol building until they may be reunited with their rightful owners.

THE INDIVIDUALS LISTED BELOW OWN OR HAVE A SPECIAL CONNECTION TO THE MEDALS AND AWARDS HELD FOR SAFEKEEPING BY THE OFFICE OF THE STATE TREASURER.

If you have contact with any of these individuals, please email DanRutherford@treasurer.state.il.us or call the treasurer's Unclaimed Property Division at 217-785-6998. If you would like to file a claim for one of these individuals, click here.

OPERATION REUNITE SIGNUP

As administrator of unclaimed property in Illinois, the State Treasurer's Office receives the contents of abandoned safety deposit boxes and makes every effort to locate the rightful owners. However, after all attempts have been exhausted and the owner isn't found, the items are sold at public auction. Medals earned in military service and combat are not sold at auction. We seek to return these items to a rightful owner or heir. If you would like to volunteer to display military medals and informational materials about Operation Reunite at your functions, please fill out the form field below.

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