faamily returnA long-lost Purple Heart medal, once belonging to WWII veteran PVT Cuyler Leonard Hairelson, was returned to his family in Milton, FL, with the help of Purple Hearts Reunited and the Military Order of the Purple Heart. Carmen Antone, the daughter of PVT Hairelson, was presented with the medal in this commemorative ceremony. The lost Purple Heart of PVT Cuyler Leonard Hairelson is finally at home with his daughter.

Cuyler Leonard Hairelson was born on 29 April 1925 and enlisted in the Army at Camp Blanding, FL on 20 October 1943. PVT Hairelson, service number 34794561, served in World War II and was wounded, earning a Purple Heart medal. Hairelson passed away on 08 April 1986, and has living relatives in FL.

The Purple Heart medal was engraved with PVT Hairelson’s full name, and was sent to Purple Hearts Reunited by Marty Claus, whose father, Stuart Melvin Claus, was a Captain in the Army during WWII. PHR founder Zachariah Fike speculates that PVT Hairelson may have served under CPT Claus in the war. The medal was found in Claus’s belongings after his death, and turned in to PHR. The medal was presented to PVT Hairelson’s daughter, Carmen Antone, and her husband, by the Commander of the local Pensacola MOPH Chapter, Mr. Eustice Shiver.

This return was sponsored by a grant from the Military Order of the Purple Heart Service Foundation.