State Wants To Return Veterans Medals To Owners

The Tennessee Treasury Department safeguards unclaimed property for Tennesseans, and
the Division of Unclaimed Property works every day to return that property to its rightful owners. In
Tennessee, unclaimed property is usually money. However, if a military medal is found in an abandoned
safe deposit box, the medal is turned over to the State Treasurer for safekeeping.
The Tennessee General Assembly established a law to protect military medals for veterans in May of
2011. Identifying military medals as “any decoration or award that may be presented or awarded to a
member of a unit of the Armed Forces or National Guard,” the law established a clear policy to turn over
these medals to State Treasurer for safekeeping until they are claimed by the rightful owners or their
heirs.
Treasurer David Lillard, Jr. is very proud of his department’s role in protecting these medals. “You
cannot put a value on these priceless badges of sacrifices made by our military. They belong in the hands
of the families of these heroes.”
Since 2011, ten different pieces of property have been turned over, accounting for more than 30
different military honors and decorations. Treasury is holding these medals until they can find the
rightful owners or their heirs. Medals currently in keeping include World War II Medals such as a Purple
Heart, Army Good Conduct Medals, Dog tags, and more.
This Veterans Day, Treasury asks for help in locating the owners of the medals. All unclaimed property,
including the medals in safekeeping, is listed at ClaimItTN.gov. The Department will also be using
Facebook and Twitter to share the names of individuals that may have these medals to claim.

About the Division of Unclaimed Property:

Unclaimed property is money that has been turned over to the State by businesses and organizations
who cannot locate the rightful owners. Every year, millions of missing dollars are turned over, and the
Tennessee Treasury Department works to get that money back to whom it belongs. In Tennessee, there
is currently $789.2 million in unclaimed property still waiting to be claimed.
To see if you have any missing money, go to the Unclaimed Property’s website: ClaimItTN.gov. This
searchable online database contains all unclaimed property in Tennessee dating to the beginning of the
program. You can visit https://www.claimittn.gov/ to search for your name and can file a claim online.
Treasury recommends searching for common misspellings of your name and addresses as well.