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Lost Purple Heart found: Newnan scrapyard sparks search for WWII hero's family

The Brief A Newnan scrapyard discovered a Purple Heart Medal and turned it over to a local veterans organization in the hopes of returning it to either the recipient or a family member. The mystery behind the lost medal is slowly unraveling with the discovery of family members in California. The name David T. McMahon is inscribed on the back of the medal, and local historians have learned he was a pilot who died in a plane crash 80 years ago. NEWNAN, Ga. - The discovery of a Purple Heart medal at a Newnan scrapyard has prompted a search for the recipient or next of kin to return the award. What we know Local veterans and a historian say they are making headway with the discovery in a local salvage yard. It's a complete mystery how this World War II-era Purple Heart ended up in a Coweta County junkyard. It was only recently discovered. Now, slowly, local veterans and a historian are finding the answers they need to return it. "It could have been an accident that the medal was thrown away. We may never know. But we do know where the medal needs to go," said Jeff Bouchard of VFW Post 2667. Dig deeper The name David T. McMahon is handwritten on the back of the medal. When an employee at the salvage yard brought it to Newnan VFW Post, they turned to local author and historian Steve Quisenberry, who immediately learned that McMahon had died 80 years ago in a military plane crash in the Philippines, where historians say he is buried. "I know that he died on takeoff in the Philippines and he is buried there," said Quisenberry. He said McMahon was a fighter pilot assigned to a unit stationed in the Philippines. The medal was awarded posthumously. Local veterans and the historian say they found an old article about McMahon's death printed in a Grand Rapids Newspaper, which included a photograph. But in their research, they found nothing that explained the medal's presence in a box in a Georgia junkyard. What they're saying Just this past weekend, they say they discovered a niece and nephew in Bolinas, California. They also could not shed any light on how the medal ended up in Georgia. The Source FOX 5's Doug Evans spoke with members of the Newnan VFW Post for this article.