Rep. Joe Courtney will present a Purple Heart found at a Montville tag sale to the last known family members of a New York man killed in the invasion of Normandy during World War II.
Courtney's office announced that the medal will be returned in a ceremony at 12:30 p.m. on Monday at the Veterans Memorial in East Meadows, N.Y. The Purple Heart was awarded to Staff Sgt. Arthur H. Haapala, who is buried at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer, France.
According to enlistment records, Haapala was a carpenter living in Nassau, N.Y., when he enlisted on March 4, 1941. He was part of the 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division and was killed in action during the Normandy campaign on June 21, 1944 - 15 days after D-Day. Haapala was 27 years old at the time of his death.
Haapala's Purple Heart somehow found its way to into a box at a Montville tag sale. Upon finding the medal, the purchaser of the box brought it to Rep. Joe Courtney's office to return to Haapala's family. The office used online resources to track down Haapala's descendants.
The search located three people who are the only remaining family members of Haapala: his niece, Carol Pacifico of East Meadows, and her two brothers. Pacifico, along with Haapala's nephew Eddie Gaynor, will receive the Purple Heart in Monday's ceremony.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
