If you’re familiar with the family of a World War II Army veteran from SouthCoast named Joseph Arruda — or know someone who is — there’s a good chance Massachusetts state Treasurer Deborah Goldberg and staff from the Unclaimed Property Division want to speak with you.
Since around mid-August, Goldberg and Unclaimed Property Division staff have been on a campaign to locate the rightful owners of six Purple Heart medals left unclaimed in seemingly forgotten safe deposit boxes, Goldberg said.
As of Aug. 25, those efforts have resulted in success in four cases, according to Goldberg. One of the two remaining mysteries is that of the locally tied Joseph Arruda.
According to Goldberg, Arruda was an Army staff sergeant from the “New Bedford-South Dartmouth area,” who served during World War II in the Asiatic-Pacific theater of operations for 27 months with the 129th Infantry Regiment Company L.
“What we also know is he passed away in 1998 and it’s his daughters who are the owners of the safe deposit box,” Goldberg said, noting one of the daughters is deceased. Meanwhile, the Unclaimed Property Division is working to get in touch with Arruda’s other daughter, Susan Santos, reported to be living in New Bedford currently, Goldberg said.
State officials are searching for the daughter of World War II Army veteran Joseph Arruda, from the “New Bedford-South Dartmouth area,” according to Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, so they may give her Arruda’s unclaimed military medals, including a Purple Heart, seen here.
“So we’re really hoping that when you write this story … she either sees your article, or someone who knows her sees it,” Goldberg said, noting a letter sent out to Santos hasn’t gotten a response.
Aside from Arruda’s Purple Heart Medal lapel pin, a listing of the box’s contents shows it also contained a U.S. Army Good Conduct Medal and Ribbon, a World War II Victory Ribbon, Asiatic-Pacific Theater Campaign Ribbon with Bronze 3⁄16-inch star, Honorable Service Lapel Button, “known as the ‘Ruptured Duck'” and Arruda’s ribbon bar, decorated with the following honors: Purple Heart Ribbon, Asiatic-Pacific Theater Campaign Ribbon with two Bronze 3⁄16-inch stars, and a Philippine Liberation Ribbon.
Check this out: Mattress recycling company settles down in New Bedford location. Check out the discounts.
Not to be confused with former New Bedford firefighter Joseph E. “Jimmy” Arruda, another World War II Purple Heart recipient, the Joseph Arruda in question here was born March 11, 1922 and died February 16, 1998, according to information provided by the Division of Unclaimed Property. He was discharged from the military in 1946.
How’d Arruda’s Purple Heart end up in Unclaimed Property?
When banks don’t receive payment for a safe deposit box, after one year, the box gets drilled open, according to regulation, Goldberg explained. Then, the box’s contents are held for seven years.
In the case of the box containing Arruda’s military honors, Goldberg said the contents were reported to her office in 2019, “which means it went unclaimed as of 2011.”
The Commonwealth is currently in possession of over 50 military medals that belong to veterans from unclaimed safe deposit boxes.
Challenges of the search
When it comes to the state Treasurer’s Office’s and Unclaimed Property Division’s search to find the Purple Heart recipients or their heirs, Goldberg and Unclaimed Property Division Director of Publication and External Relations Christina Lambert say the work has been a mix of public outreach and sleuthing.
“Talking with television stations, radio stations, news outlets — that’s really helped,” Goldberg said. “This is how we’ve been able to return, so far, the ones that we have returned.”
“We have been using Ancestry and other geneology records,” Lambert added. “In Joseph Arruda’s case, the fact that his discharge papers were in the safe desposit box helped us because some of the medals are engraved and some are not. So this one is not engraved.”
Aside from Arruda, Goldberg and Lambert said the other Purple Heart they’ve been trying to reunite with rightful ownership is that of World War II veteran William Bemis, of Springfield.
Read more local news: New Bedford diners and restaurants thrive after being spotlighted on these TV shows
Goldberg: Campaigns to reunite military medals will continue on
According to Lambert, the commonwealth currently holds over 50 military medals from unclaimed safe deposit boxes.
“This is our first public outreach doing this,” Lambert said, noting such searches have been known to take years in other states with a history of conducting them. “A lot of the recipients are from World War I or World War II so likely they’re no longer with us, so it’s really tracking down their heirs who are able to claim it.”
Goldberg said she and her staff have been compelled to do the work of finding medal recipients or their families by thoughts of “what it would mean for those who are still alive to have this back, or for members of their family, their grandchildren to know what amazing acts of selflessness they performed.”
Keep up with local news: Freetown woman killed in single-car crash in Dartmouth this weekend. What we know.
“What amazing sacrifices people made to get the highest honor in the land,” Goldberg said. Alongside Lambert, Unclaimed Property Division manager and military veteran James Roy has been the other staff member involved in the searching, Goldberg noted. “We will absolutely continue to do this, at least as long as I’m around.”
Know Joseph Arruda or his family? Who to contact
If you know Arruda’s daughter, Susan Santos, of New Bedford, or have knowledge that can help state officials connect with her, call the Massachusetts Treasurer’s Office at 617-367-0400 Monday through Friday, 8:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; or visit www.findmassmoney.gov.
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Purple Heart medal lost: MA treasurer seeks veteran’s family