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SALEM -- The wayward journey of a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star kept safe by Salem Police since 2011 has ended.
Those precious medals earned by Josiah Alonzo Hogue during World War II now rest in the hands of a grateful granddaughter.
"This is awesome," Winona resident Kelly Cameron said.
She recently received the medals from Salem Police Lt. Dave Casto, who had been searching for family members of Josiah for many years and was very happy to finally find the right person.
"Somebody gave their life. This needs to be returned to the family," he said.
The Purple Heart is an honor reserved for service members who have been injured or killed in the line of duty by enemy fire -- a recognition for great sacrifice and for some, the ultimate sacrifice. The Bronze Star is awarded for heroic service or meritorious achievement.
Cameron never met her grandfather. A staff sergeant with the U.S. Army, Josiah was killed in action in France on Aug. 23, 1944 while serving with the 330th Infantry Regiment, 83rd Infantry Division.
He was only 33 years old.
He's one of many American soldiers buried at Brittany American Cemetery at Montijoie Saint Martin, France, his grave marked with a simple white cross.
According to his obituary, he entered the service on Nov. 5, 1943 and traveled overseas June 15, 1944. A graduate of East High School in Youngstown, he had worked at Republic Steel before joining the Army.
Cameron's mother, Sandra, was just a small child when he died in the war. She and her mother, Genevieve, had to carry on without him, as did the families of many soldiers. Sandra grew up and married her own Army man, James Richardson, and together, they had six children who grew up in the Salem area. They eventually divorced and Sandra got remarried, to Jerry Flood, and lived in Florida. She passed away in May.
Gazing at the Purple Heart, Cameron said "I'm sure my mom is happy it's back where it belongs."
At some point, the medals were lost, possibly to a break-in.
Now here comes the interesting part.
On May 20, 2011, Salem Police conducted a traffic stop at Centennial Park on a car traveling recklessly and found drugs and drug paraphernalia inside. During the search, Lt. Charles Shafer, who passed away in 2018, found a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star on the rear window ledge. Both were imprinted with the name Josiah A. Hogue on the back. At the time, the people in the car couldn't provide pertinent information about ownership of the medals, so police confiscated them.
Since then, Casto said officers tried to search the name and couldn't come up with anything. In the last few years, they kept trying, with Patrolman Mike Garber, who's a U.S. Army veteran, giving it a shot and then Casto taking up the search again.
He learned that Josiah was killed in France and was buried there, then came up against another deadend. He consulted with Salem Fire Lt. Lance Ritchie, another veteran, who contacted the local Veterans Service Commission office with Josiah's service number.
They provided information on his family and Casto found an obituary for one of Josiah's sisters and then tracked down her son through the funeral home.
Casto spoke to him and then a few days later, Casto received a phone call from Cameron, who told him about her mother.
Apparently Cameron had received a call from a cousin, Barbara Jean, who told her about the medals and the police wanting to return them to Josiah's family. She said she was blown away by the news.
"I can't wait to tell my siblings," she said.
Casto credited "the magic of the Internet" with helping him finally track down the proper relative to receive the medals.
Since receiving them, Cameron said she's talked with her siblings, which include Katie Yarwood, Kris Kloos, Karin Scoccia, Jenny Richardson and Jim Richardson Jr. The consensus is to give the medals to Cameron's nephew, Rylan Kloos, who's currently in boot camp with the Army National Guard.
When he was in school, he wrote a report all about Josiah, the family war hero, and even asked his grandma if he could take the Purple Heart for his report, but she didn't have it.
Once lost, now found, the Purple Heart and Bronze Star will rest soon in the hands of a soldier.
mgreier@salemnews.net