Purple Heart returned to fallen soldier's family
BRUNSWICK, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- It's been months in the making, but a lost Purple Heart has finally returned home.
Scott Burkett, from Georgia, found the medal at an auction. After doing some research, he learned that it belonged to fallen soldier, Joe Nethercott. Burkett tracked down his great-nephew in the Capital Region. He drove hundreds of miles on a motorcycle to return the special honor.
The missing medal was formally returned during a ceremony over the weekend. At the event, tables were decorated with items from Nethercott's life and served as a memorial to the fallen hero. The ceremony moved family members deeply.
"When our great friend Doug, one of the riders that came down here, was handing me each medal quietly, he said 'on behalf of a grateful country,' and every time he said that, the waterworks just came and came and came," Wayne Nethercott said.
Members of the Nethercott family said that it's a miracle and an honor to have even seen the medal in the first place.