War hero's WWII medals reunited with family

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The daughter of -- World War II combat veteran has just received her father's medals nearly seventeen years after the war.

She -- she really never knew about her dad's second lieutenant Ayman Markel he died before she was born.

But she knew the army had awarded him -- purple heart for wounds suffered in battle.

That medal went missing until -- four months ago when it turned up inside a box of her father's personal items at an apartment building in West Hollywood.

Other relatives had lived in that building and the woman said at the box slightly got lost in the shuffle somewhere.

But researchers -- that a little bit of digging and that's when they made an even bigger discovery.

Trace Gallagher is on our Los Angeles newsroom turns out I guess he was among the soldiers.

Most highly decorated in World War II.

Yeah.

Yeah it's a great distortion purple hearts reunited as one organization they got -- returns metals to veterans they were doing some research.

And -- -- Markel it turns out he wasn't just awarded the purple heart.

He was also awarded the silver star for bravery that's the military's third highest decoration.

And he was awarded six other metals but his family didn't lose the silver star.

For reasons that nobody knows to this day the military.

Never told the family that Markel was awarded the silver star so now 68 years after her father died the daughter he never met is celebrating his bravery listen.

It's a 200 to.

Do this in his memory.

I was named after him.

-- -- my -- -- and that comes from time.

It's resistant this kind of tears or whoever -- -- It was.

A pardon me that I've always -- who was a wonderful person.

-- she says her mother really never spoke about her father at all because for her it was simply too painful -- we're learning more I guess -- about his historic act.

Yet he guiding Italy in the closing days of World War II shot -- market lieutenant -- Markel was on patrol and they were ambushed by a German machine gun lieutenant -- told his men to take cover and he alone went after the Gunner.

He was shot and wounded but he kept on going.

And he took out the machine gun.

-- died from his wounds but he saved his thirty men.

Purple hearts reunited says that's why it's so important that heroes get their medals and -- do listen.

They are heroes.

They serve and act and Iraq Afghanistan throughout history and and as Americans we don't thank them enough.

We should put them on a pedestal and thank them every day because of them.

We are free and a lot of these guys like -- and paid the ultimate sacrifice and -- was with their lives.

We should mention that -- marbles wife just passed away two weeks ago ship she was 91 years old well Trace Gallagher in -- trees thank you.

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War hero's WWII medals reunited with family

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