Ok, Ebay Made Me Sad.

[Loyal]

Last weekend I shared the story of my Grandfather on Iwo Jima during WW2. He was shot by a Japanese sniper while running for machine gun ammunition. He lost a lung and wasn't found for 24 hours. The Marines and much of the military was out of Purple Hearts, and he was assured of getting one before leaving the service. Well, President Truman had requested 500,000 new Purple Hearts to be ready for the invasion of Japan, which never happened. Still, Gramps floated on a hospital ship to San Francisco, and made his way to Balboa (Military) Hospital in San Diego to enter rehabilitation. He was transferred to Camp Pendleton, before exiting the military after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Still, no Purple Heart

Finally, he wrote a letter to the Marine Corps, which I have a copy of, stating "my wife and mother are giving me hell" about not receiving the medal. The medal came in 1946 and was given to me when he died in 1983. The medal itself looks as beautiful as the day it was forged, but the ribbon portion is looking aged as is the purple box which displays it. I am getting older, and it concerns me that the story behind the medal, and the medal itself be passed on to a relative who will appreciate it, since I don't have a son. It's important to me.

On a whim, I went to Ebay and searched for Purple Hearts. Medals just like the one I have upstairs are on sale for cheap. I think I'll get drunk.

 

[fearsomefour]

The saddest place on earth is the used toy bin at the Salvation Army.
Human behavior cant or shouldn't surprise anyone at this point Loyal.
I have a cousin who was a kid and present at a very famous mass murder. You would be amazed (maybe not) how many times he has been hit up by people looking to buy memorabilia. Its a weird world we have created.

 

[Mackeyser]

Every Purple Heart medal should be more valuable than any baseball card.

It's rare for a piece of paper to survive 100 years, but it was almost impossible for many men and women to survive some of the wartime encounters they did.

It saddens me, too, that we so undervalue the truly meaningful while speculating mightily on the truly trivial...