A World War I medal has been returned to the family of Joseph William Morrison, who was a Private First Class in the Army from Auburn, Schuylkill County, and was killed in action.

Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity made the presentation Thursday at the Orwigsburg Free Public Library.

The medal was reported to Treasury as unclaimed property.

The WWI Gold Star Mothers and Widows Pilgrimage Medal was stored in a safe-deposit box owned by the late Agnes Morrison, the granddaughter of Joseph’s mother, the late Agnes Kissick Morrison, who the medal was awarded to. Christine Morrison of Brooklyn, New York, traveled to Schuylkill County for the ceremony that was attended by numerous family members. Christine is the cousin of Agnes Morrison.

“I’m so honored to be returning this medal to Joseph Morrison’s family on behalf of a grateful Commonwealth,” Garrity said. “It is so important we remember the sacrifices of those who gave their lives serving our country, as PFC Morrison did when he died representing the Allies in France. As a fellow Veteran, there is no higher honor for me than to return these medals to our military families and shine a light on the heroism of our men and women in uniform.”

Joseph W. Morrison was a member of the 554th Army Ambulance Service during World War I and was killed in action on Nov. 1, 1918, 10 days before Armistice Day on Nov. 11, 1918, signifying the end of the war.

PFC Morrison was also awarded the Croix de Guerre, and VFW Post 2198 in Orwigsburg is named in his honor.

“When I was growing up in Auburn, I heard many stories about our great Uncle Joe. However, I was not aware of the Gold Star Medal which was presented to our great-grandmother after World War I,” said Christine Morrison. “That is what makes the return of the medal to our family a very momentous occasion. It is quite remarkable, and only through the diligent efforts of the Pennsylvania Treasury staff, that the return is possible. More importantly, the medal reminds us of the sacrifice made by him and others — and their families — in defense of humanity.”

The WWI Gold Star Mothers and Widows Pilgrimage Medal was awarded to mothers and widows of those who served in the war, commemorating government sponsored pilgrimages of visits to their sons’ or husbands’ graves in France between 1930 and 1933. Agnes K. Morrison was part of one of these pilgrimages in 1933. Christine and her husband have also traveled to France to visit the grave of PFC Morrison in 2022.

Since taking office Garrity has returned 477 military decorations, including 11 Purple Hearts and three Bronze Stars. Approximately 480 decorations remain in Treasury’s vault. Anyone can search Treasury’s military decoration database to help find Veterans and their families by visiting patreasury.gov/unclaimed-property/medals.

Unclaimed property can include dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks, insurance policies, contents of forgotten safe deposit boxes and more. Most tangible unclaimed property comes from abandoned safety deposit boxes, police evidence rooms, colleges, nursing homes and can include things like jewelry, baseball cards, and other collectibles. State law requires businesses to report unclaimed property to Treasury after three years of dormancy.

More than one in 10 Pennsylvanians is owed unclaimed property, and the average claim is worth about $1,600. To learn more about unclaimed property or to search Treasury’s database, visit patreasury.gov/unclaimed-property.