Latest news with #GoldStarMothersandWidowsPilgrimageMedal
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
World War I medal being returned to local family
ORWIGSBURG, SCHUYLKILL COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A piece of history has been returned to its rightful owners in Schuylkill County. A medal belonging to the family of a World War I veteran came home. Joseph William Morrison from Auburn, Schuylkill County, was a Private First Class in the Army during World War I. During his time in the service, Morrison was held in high regard by his fellow soldiers and his commander. 'He just had boundless energy, and he was so optimistic. He was noted for his bravery to run onto the battlefield to retrieve his wounded brothers,' Treasurer Stacy Garrity recalled. He was killed in action just 10 days before the war was declared over. His late mother, Agnes Kissick Morrison, was awarded a World War I Gold Star Mothers and Widows Pilgrimage Medal after she made a trip to her son's grave in France. The medal was held in a safe deposit box originally owned by a family member. It was reported as unclaimed property to the state treasury, where it remained until now. PA Game Commission releases harvest estimates for 2024-25 deer season 'It is truly my immense privilege and honor to be here with you all and return this World War I Gold Star Mothers and Widows Pilgrimage Medal to the Morrison family,' Garrity said. The medal was presented at a ceremony at the Orwigsburg Free Public Library. Family and friends say they are grateful to be able to keep Joseph's memory alive and that they once again have a physical reminder of his sacrifice. His great niece sharing a letter he wrote to his parents when they gave him permission to serve. ''Father, I clearly understand the step that I am taking, and very likely, I will have to endure hardships, and in the end, receive little thanks, but someone has got to do it.' That's, really says it all in terms of who he was as a person. It's very nice to have this gold star medal returned to the family,' stated Christine Morrison, great niece of Joseph William Morrison. Joseph's family hopes to honor his legacy by continuing to share his story. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Medal returned to family of soldier killed in World War I
ORWIGSBURG — Call it a day of reunification. Members of the Morrison family were reunited Wednesday with Pvt. Joseph W. Morrison, an Army medic killed in action in France during World War I. Pvt. Morrison was KIA on Nov. 1, 1918 — 10 days before the end of World War I — and his mother, Agnes Kissick Morrison, of Auburn, was awarded a Gold Star Mothers and Widows Pilgrimage Medal. Passed from generation to generation, the medal faded into obscurity. Agnes Marie Morrison, the soldier's niece, kept it in a safe deposit box in M&T Bank in Orwigsburg for many years. Relatives were unaware of it and, when she died in 2020, the medal ended up as unclaimed property in the Pennsylvania Treasury Department. The Gold Star Mothers and Widows Pilgrimages medal presented initially to Agnes Kissick Morrison, mother of Joseph Morrison who died in WWI, was lost and then found. The medal was presented by Treasurer Stacy Garrity to Joseph Morrison's great niece Christine Morrison, Wednesday, April 2, at the Orwigsburg Free Public Library. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR) With four generations of the Morrison family present, State Treasurer Stacy Garrity presented the Gold Star Medal to Christine Morrison, the soldier's grand-niece before a gathering of 50 people in the Orwigsburg Area Free Public Library. 'This is truly an immense privilege and honor,' said Garrity, 'to return this Gold Star Mothers and Widows Pilgrimage Medal to the Morrison family.' In accepting the medal, Christine Morrison, who lives in Brooklyn, recalled hearing many stories about her uncle when she was growing up in Auburn. She was not aware, Morrison said, of the existence of the Gold Star Medal. (right to left) Jay Jones, Dennis Campbell and Dave Moore look through the photos and documents on display before a presentation of a lost Gold Star Mothers and Widows Pilgrimages medal at the Orwigsburg Free Public Library, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR) 'That is what makes the return of the medal to our family a very momentous occasion,' she said. 'It is quite remarkable but, more importantly, the medal reminds us of the sacrifice made by him and others in defense of humanity.' Christine recounted a letter Pvt. Morrison wrote to his parents that exemplified his character. 'I am pleased that you and father granted me the permission to join the ambulance corps, for I truly feel that I may be able to do my bit in defense of humanity best in this line of work,' he wrote while serving with the 554th Ambulance Service in France. 'I assure you I will do it when the time comes to the very best of my ability.' To his father, he wrote that he clearly understood the steps he was taking and was likely to endure hardship. 'But someone's got to do it, and why should I be the slacker,' he wrote. John Morrison, the soldier's grand-nephew, remembered his uncle was a great athlete who played soccer at Lehigh University, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity. 'He gave up a promising career to help others,' said Morrison, 73, a retired real estate broker in Orwigsburg. 'He was a mentor to me, and I've always tried to help other people.' Agnes K. Morrison received the medal on a government-sponsored pilgrimage of mothers and widows to the graves of their loved ones in France in 1933. Christine and her husband visited Pvt. Morrison's grave in the American cemetery in Meuse-Argonne in 2022. For valor 'Joe Boy' Morrison, as he was known to his comrades, died while rescuing a wounded soldier on a battlefield in France 107 years ago. Christine Morrison, whose great uncle Joseph Morrison died in service during WWI, speaks during a ceremony to return the lost Gold Star Medal to her family while at the Orwigsburg Free Public Library, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR) During an attack at Mont Blanc on Oct. 3, 1918, Pvt. Morrison was chosen to go to the most dangerous post, his commander wrote. 'I knew he would go and deem it part of his duty.' Working day and night through shell and machinegun fire, he evacuated wounded men and came out of it without a scratch. His commander recommended him for the French War Cross. On Oct. 31, in the Argonne, a German shell came through a medical dressing station and Morrison was badly wounded. He died the next day. Subsequently, he was awarded the French Croix de Guerre for bravery, the equivalent of a Silver Star. John W. Morrison VFW Post 2198, Orwigsburg, is named in his honor. Dave Moore, post commander, spoke on behalf of Orwigsburg veterans organizations. 'What an extremely exciting yet somber day in honoring one of our town's own killed in France during World War I,' he said. 'God Bless Pfc. Joseph W. Morrison.' Christine Morrison said she does not want the Gold Star Medal to languish in obscurity as it had for the past 50 or so years. She would like to donate it to a museum, with the understanding that it would be on permanent display. Commander Moore offered to have it placed on a memorial wall at the Orwigsburg Veterans Community Memorial Hall. The Treasury department's office of unclaimed property has returned 477 military decorations to families, including 11 Purple Hearts and three Bronze Stars, Garrity said. An estimated 488 decorations remain in the department's vault in Harrisburg. Information on the archive can be found at
