Rep. Cook Reintroduces the Private Corrado Piccoli Purple Heart Preservation Act

Statement

This week, Rep. Paul Cook (R-Apple Valley) reintroduced HR 2911, the Private Corrado Piccoli Purple Heart Preservation Act.

The bill prohibits the sale of any Purple Heart medal presented by the government to a wounded servicemember or the servicemember's family. Military collectors often acquire these Purple Hearts, sometimes through underhanded means, and resell them as collectable items. These medals sell for hundreds and even thousands of dollars on the collector market.

HR 2911 is named for Private Corrado Piccoli, a WWII infantryman killed in action in 1944. A Purple Heart medal accompanied the telegram informing Private Piccoli's family of his death. Sadly, years later and after his parents' passing, the medal was lost. Army Captain Zachariah Fike discovered the lost medal in 2011 and, after researching the name engraved on the medal, returned it to Private Piccoli's surviving siblings. The experience inspired Captain Fike to found Purple Hearts Reunited, an organization that has returned over 600 Purple Hearts and rescued more than 1000 since its establishment.

As Veterans or their survivors pass away, dozens of these Purple Hearts become lost every year and find their way into pawn shops, secondhand stores, and estate sales. Service organizations like Purple Hearts Reunited work tirelessly to rescue these medals and return them to families. The profiteering actions of military collectors make this task even more difficult as medals find their way onto the market and away from their rightful places of honor.

Rep. Cook, wounded twice in combat himself, said, "Memorial Day is a time to recognize those who made the ultimate sacrifice defending our nation and our freedom. The Purple Heart is a symbol of sacrifice and heroism awarded to those who were killed or wounded in combat. It's not a collector's item. Profiteering from re-sale of the Purple Heart medal has to stop. The fact that this market exists cheapens the sacrifice of the service members who earned them. The best way to preserve the honor of our veterans is to ensure that the medals end up with whom they belong: the families of those who earned them."

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