MIDLAND, TX (KWES) - The Purple Heart is a symbol of combat injury, courage and bravery. It's given to strong soldiers who were hurt while fighting for our country. But imagine finding a veteran's medals in one of the last places you should ever expect to find one, inside a dumpster.
"You know this is just disgusting," said Army veteran Gary Kennedy. "Somebody worked hard for this."
Kennedy received a call from the VFW in Midland about a Purple Heart and other medals that were found in a dumpster in Midland.
"You only receive a Purple Heart for each time you were shot," said Kennedy. "If you did get shot, it means you were in harms way and you were shot by the enemy."
Although the box found is a small pocket-sized box, it holds many years of a veteran's service to his country inside.
"He probably went straight over to Germany," said Kennedy. "And automatically went into combat. He had experience with war already."
Now, he's looking for who Jim C Carter is. The World War II veteran who served in the Army whose name is printed on those medals.
"We just need to find the missing piece to the puzzle," said Kennedy.
It's unclear who discarded the medals and why. Kennedy has reached out to several organizations and possible families to whom the medals that carry a valuable piece of history can finally go home to.
"We want to be able to give it back to the family so they can have it and still cherish these stories that grand father or great grandfather whoever it may be."
If you have an idea on who the family of the veteran is, you can contact Gary Kennedy at (432) 230-9078.
