The brave men and women who fight for this country deserve the utmost respect.
Veterans, after all, have put their lives on the line to protect ordinary civilians, and they're left with dozens of harrowing, heroic stories from their time in battle.
Many soldiers give their lives to the cause, and still others return home with injuries that will affect them for the rest of their lives, like the brave young veteran who got a special house after losing limbs in war.
Soldiers who make these heart-wrenching sacrifices are recognized for their bravery with the Purple Heart, a medal given to soldiers wounded in battle.
These medals usually become cherished family heirlooms, handed down to children and grandchildren in memory of the brave ancestor who fought for their freedom.
So when one Arizona school teacher spotted a Purple Heart up for sale in a local thrift store, she immediately realized that there must be a very good reason that the medal wasn't safely in the hands of its rightful owner.
She decided then and there to make it her mission to get that medal home safe and sound!
Laura Hardy, who works as a Special Education teacher in Arizona, is used to making a difference every day.
So when she discovered a Purple Heart medal for sale at a local Goodwill, she wasn't about to sit by and let it go forgotten!
Instead, she shared a photo to Facebook, where it was quickly shared more than 300,000 times.
The photo she snapped clearly shows the standard Purple Heart medal, attached to a Goodwill tag, priced at $4.99.
Hardy was upset that this important symbol of bravery was collecting dust in a thrift store instead of being safely home with people who treasured the memory of the soldier who once earned it.
Back in March, she wrote on Facebook, "Looking for the family of Eual H. Whiteman. Deceased in nineteen ninety one. What a shame to find it at Goodwill for $4.99."
Hardy didn't have any information save the name, Eual Whiteman, which was engraved on the back of the medal.
But her post on Facebook attracted a lot of attention, and was shared by everyone from active-duty soldiers to veterans to families with their own cherished Purple Heart heirlooms.
The power of the internet got a lot of military researchers and volunteers involved in the cause.
According to the page Missouri Genealogy, the information was finally tracked down by a volunteer who spotted the post on yet another Facebook page, Veteran Buddy Finder.
The page is designed to help veterans and their families track down old war buddies that have fallen out of touch.
A woman named Tina Cook from the group dedicated herself to finding Eual Whiteman's family.
After lots of hunting, Cook finally pieced together more of the story.
Whiteman was born in 1921 and served in Europe during World War II, where he earned the Purple Heart and a number of other medals.
He and his wife didn't have any children, so he left his Purple Heart to his nephew.
Whiteman passed away in 1991, at age 70. Afterward, his nephew kept the Purple Heart safe in a box of treasures.
Unfortunately, Whiteman's nephew was recently incarcerated, and he gave his belongings to a friend to hold for him.
The friend was apparently not too trustworthy, because he donated everything to Goodwill — and that's how it eventually made its way to Hardy's Arizona Goodwill store.
But there's a very happy ending to the long journey of this Purple Heart medal: it eventually made its way home!
Now it's safely in the keeping of Whiteman's sister-in-law, who will keep the medal in the family for generations to come.
If you were touched by the incredible way the veteran community banded together to bring this Purple Heart home, please be sure to SHARE this awesome story!
