PHOENIX - A Valley man is on a quest to find the family of a Purple Heart recipient. He says he found the medal in London and wants to reunite the owner with the badge of honor.
There's a tremendous meaning of sacrifice behind being awarded a Purple Heart. That's why Peter Longford says he's exhausting every avenue to find the rightful owner of the medal he found.
Longford is a memorabilia collector and Phoenix coffee shop owner. He says he bought the Purple Heart in London about 10 years ago, but now he's had a change of heart about keeping it.
"Back in the UK, I have various collections of things," Longford said. "But to me, medals, especially the Purple Heart, is a treasured thing. It's an honored thing."
So Longford has made it his mission to return the medal to the owner's family.
"It's a priceless treasure to the family," Longford said. "For whatever reason, the family parted with it, I don't know."
The medal belongs to a Daniel C. Salazar. Longford believes he may have already passed. His resting place, Longford says, is possibly in Houston, Texas.
"I reached out to the cemetery to see if they could give me any information on the family," he said. "They couldn't. They didn't have any up-to-date files or anything like that and that's why I came to you guys."
12 News did some digging too, to see if we could help. There's a "Lost Hearts" database online, but Salazar's name is not on it.
"These military guys, I have so much respect for them," Longford said. "Any man or woman in military who puts a uniform on and defends a country, you've really got to respect what they are."
The Purple Heart is a symbol of great sacrifice meaning the service member was either wounded or killed while serving. While Longford says if he can't find the family, he'll take care of the meaningful medal. But he'd rather return the priceless piece to the hero who earned it.
"It's a sign of respect, really, of what that man has done to make us safe," Longford said.
If you think you can help find the Salazar family, contact Jen Wahl at jwahl2@12news.com.