On 25 July 2016 at 3pm, a long lost WWII Purple Heart was returned to the family of a WWII hero PFC Harold P. Rolfe.  The ceremony took place at grave side at the St. Mary’s Cemetery in Canton, MA.

Private First Class Harold Patrick Rolfe (SN: 11089853) was born 22 July 1918.  He moved to Canton in the mid 1930’s and lived in several residences in town ( including 210 Sherman and 79 Prospect Streets ) with his three younger brothers. He found employment at the Readville car shops of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in the footsteps of his father. Although married, Harold was drafted into the Army, enlisted on 25 September 1942, and shipped out in May of 1944 to Ireland (the ancestral home of his mother) to meet up with Company K, 8^th Infantry Regiment, 4^th Infantry Division.

He found himself along the road from St. Lo to Perier on July 25^th, 1944 preparing for a breakout under Gen. Omar Bradley. B17 bombers where called for air cover but their bombs fell short and killed 125 American soldiers ( Possibly including Chaplin Resetzki of Canton ) with “friendly fire“.  It is believed that PFC Rolfe was one of these casualties. His body was returned to Canton in September of 1948.

Their is a street named in his honor in Canton, MA.

The medal was discovered by Mr. and Mrs. Aaron and Deanna Bowers in a shed in Bradenton, Florida.

The medal was presented to his great-niece Stacy on his death date, 25 July.