{"id":135397,"date":"2024-09-24T19:24:44","date_gmt":"2024-09-24T23:24:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=135397"},"modified":"2024-09-24T19:24:44","modified_gmt":"2024-09-24T23:24:44","slug":"treasurer-stacy-garrity-announces-national-recognition-of-work-to-return-military-decorations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=135397","title":{"rendered":"Treasurer Stacy Garrity Announces National Recognition of Work to Return Military Decorations"},"content":{"rendered":"

National website MissingMoney.com features Treasury\u2019s database of unclaimed military decorations<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Harrisburg, PA\u00a0<\/strong>\u2014 Treasurer Stacy Garrity today announced that the Pennsylvania Treasury Department\u2019s initiative to return unclaimed military decorations is now featured on\u00a0MissingMoney.com<\/a>, a national database where individuals can easily search for unclaimed property in almost every state. MissingMoney.com is maintained by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators.<\/p>\n

\u201cReturning military decorations is a personal mission for me,\u201d said Treasurer Garrity, a 30-year Veteran who retired as a Colonel from the U.S. Army Reserves. \u201cAnd I\u2019m blessed to have staff who make it their personal mission as well. Everyone at Treasury wants to honor the Veterans who made sacrifices on behalf of all Americans, and my team consistently goes above and beyond. They\u2019re detectives, like the hard-nosed gumshoes from old noir movies who just won\u2019t quit. Their hearts overflow with compassion for the Veterans who earned these medals and their families, and I\u2019m tremendously proud of their hard work. It\u2019s gratifying to have that work recognized on MissingMoney.com.\u201d<\/p>\n

To date, Treasury has returned 732 military decorations. Treasurer Garrity has returned 434 decorations, including 11 Purple Hearts and three Bronze Stars. Treasury is working to return an additional 450 decorations which are currently in the vault.<\/p>\n

Since 2018, Treasury has offered a dedicated search tool for unclaimed military decorations found at\u00a0patreasury.gov\/unclaimed-property\/Medals<\/a>. Here anyone can see the current list of military decorations waiting to be reunited with the rightful owners.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to thank former state Treasurer Joe Torsella for starting this initiative,\u201d Treasurer Garrity said. \u201cIt immediately became one of my favorite parts of the job. All of us are forever indebted to these brave heroes who put on the uniform understanding the possible dangers they would face, and to their families who also made big sacrifices.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most often, military decorations come to Treasury from abandoned safe deposit boxes. State law requires businesses to report unclaimed property to Treasury after three years of dormancy.<\/p>\n

Unclaimed property can also include\u00a0dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks, insurance policies, and more.\u00a0Most tangible unclaimed property comes from abandoned safety deposit boxes, police evidence rooms, colleges, nursing homes and can include things like jewelry, baseball cards, and other collectibles.<\/p>\n

Treasurer Garrity is working to return more than $4.5 billion worth of unclaimed property in Treasury\u2019s care. More than one in ten Pennsylvanians has unclaimed property, and the average value of a claim is $1,600.<\/p>\n

Individuals can keep property from ending up at Treasury by:<\/p>\n