WORCESTER, MASS. (WHDH) - A Purple Heart that was awarded to a World War One (WWI) hero is finally coming home.
The medal discovered in a safe deposit box and was returned to the grandson of the soldier who risked it all for his country.
“You know, his sons, two were in the Marines, one was in the Navy,” Thomas Brigham said, grandson of Sergeant Thomas Flynn. said. “So there’s that history of military service, so to see it returned, it’s a special honor.”
Sergeant Thomas Flynn was born in Worcester in 1896. He served in the Army during WWI and was inured in combat. He was awarded the Purple Heart for his bravery.
Following his time in the Army, Flynn served as a firefighter in Worcester until he was in his 70s. His wife Mary put the medal in a safe deposit box before she died in 1992
Flynn’s grandson says the honor is just one aspect of his grandfather’s great dedication to serving others.
“Never talked about his being gassed in France and being in the trenches, as if it’s kind of ‘that’s just what they did,’ that was what was expected of them,” Brigham said. “It just kind of reconnects the history, the military service, and now it’s coming back, which is outstanding.”
Eventually, the safe deposit box was turned over to the State Treasury Department’s “unclaimed property division.” The medal was traced back to the Flynn family as part of an effort by the state to reunite military honors with their rightful heirs.
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)