A Purple Heart medal

A California man and his family are trying to locate relatives of Andrew Moozakis, an Army veteran who received a Purple Heart medal and is buried in Youngstown.

Merl Hefferman Jr. is in Clovis, Calif., near Fresno.

His late father, Merl Hefferman Sr., who was an Army veteran in Vietnam, somehow ended up with Moozakis’ Purple Heart. Now Merl Jr. wants to get it into the hands of relatives of Moozakis, who was an Army private.

Hefferman contacted Liberty Township officials to see if they recognized the name or knew of the Mount Hope Veterans Cemetery in Youngstown.

He said he’s not sure why his father ended up with Moozakis’ Purple Heart.

“At first I thought it belonged to my father who served in Vietnam. I contacted the people in Ohio who handle the Purple Hearts, and they checked and found that Andrew Moozakis was buried in Mount Hope Cemetery in Youngstown. I am looking for any of his relatives so I can get them his Purple Heart,” Hefferman said.

The Purple Heart is a U.S. military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving with the U.S. military. It is the oldest military award still given to armed forces members.

Hefferman said after his father died, his mother had his father’s military items. After she died, the son was able to get them — and that’s when he discovered the Purple Heart pinned on one of his dad’s uniforms.

Hefferman also learned that it wasn’t his dad’s medal. His father died in 2003, and he just received the items that his mother had.

Moozakis’ name is on the back of the pin.

“I don’t know how my dad ended up with this. This belongs to someone else, and we want to find the right person,” he said.

After Hefferman learned that his father did not ever receive the medal, he contacted local news media in California for help — and they learned that Moozakis is buried in Youngstown.

He learned that Moozakis was drafted into the Army in summer 1918 and shortly after was injured in battle in October 1918 in France and discharged in April 1919. Moozakis received his Purple Heart in the 1930s and later died in December 1952 at age 64.

“I want to find his relatives and give them this Purple Heart. I want to do the right thing and get this to a member of his family,” Hefferman said.

Hefferman said he has been in contact with veterans in Ohio who have checked the cemetery and found Moozakis’ marker.

“They told me the cemetery is old,” he said, noting he was told that the cemetery is taken care of by Alpha and Omega First Baptist Church in Youngstown.

Maureen Schrecengost, an administrative assistant in Liberty Township, said she received the call from Hefferman and wanted to try and help him with his effort.

“It’s a very interesting story. He wants to return the Purple Heart to someone in Andrew Moozakis’ family,” she said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact merl@valleyunique.com