About 40 years ago, a veteran's house in Florida was stolen. The stolen property included his Purple Heart Medal. Just recently, a man stumbled upon the medal in a yard auction and was able to reunite with the veteran.

NBC affiliated radio station WMGT reported that Gus Albritton, now living in Dublin, Georgia, has received three Purple Hearts during his military career. He told the media that after returning from Vietnam to Fort Hood, Texas, he held an award ceremony for veterans.

In 1983, his home was broken into and one of his medals was stolen.

"I was stolen, and during the theft, I had a large 5-gallon carafe," Albritton told WMGT. "I have change, money, jewelry, pocket knife, and I also put my purple heart in it. When the burglary, I didn’t know who it was. He must be a man. Pick up the bottle of change and everything, but it Gone."

According to the Purple Heart, these awards are awarded to those who were injured or killed in combat in the U.S. Armed Forces. The organization pointed out that this medal is dedicated to battle decoration.

Over time, Albritton believed that the medal was gone forever, until he heard the news from Jamie Buss, a resident of Brooksville, Florida.

While browsing the auction in the yard, he stumbled upon a medal worth $2. Bath was originally born in South Africa. He told WMGT that he had heard of this prestigious award and knew that people could find their owner in many ways. Purple Hearts Reunited is such a non-profit organization that returns the missing Purple Heart Medal to the veteran or the family of the veteran.

"This is the first one I have actually seen," he said. "My wife and I like to do a lot of real estate sales and yard sales on weekends, and this happens to be in someone's yard sales."

When Bass saw the medal, he said it was “the right thing to do” to return it to the veteran who won it.

Bass was able to get in touch with Albrecht, and decades later, the medal was returned to its owner.

Newsweek reported in August that Purple Heart was stolen in North Carolina and traded for soda.

Erica Laws, the daughter of two soldiers who participated in the Vietnam War, said that her home was broken into, and his Purple Heart and other military honors were gone. After reviewing the security footage, investigators identified the suspected thief as Charles Carr.

According to reports, the Purple Heart Medal has been returned to the family, but the whereabouts of the other medals are still unknown.

Newsweek contacted Jamie Buss for further comment, but received no response at the time of publication.

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