By Jason Arndt
Editor
Catholic Central High School recently helped a Vietnam veteran reunite with his military medals, and it all began with an unexpected phone conversation.
Debbie O’Connell, the recipient, didn’t understand why a total stranger from Texas called her workplace to ask about her brother – a Vietnam veteran with ties to Catholic Central High School.
O’Connell, of Racine, recalled the stranger – known as Jessica – said the conversation would be strange.
Initially hesitant, and even perplexed, O’Connell listened as the caller divulged specific details about her brother, Tom Crawford, whose military belongings were somehow found alongside a road in New Mexico about a decade ago.
O’Connell, who is married to former Catholic Central theology teacher Daniel O’Connell, felt the need to be cautious.
“I was suspicious and concerned this might be a phishing scam of some sort, so I asked Jessica how she managed to identify me as Tom’s sister,” Debbie said during a Veterans Day observance held in Topper Hall at Catholic Central.
“Jessica told me it was because of a Veterans Day celebration photo posted on its Facebook page,” she added.
Jessica initially wasn’t able to track down contact information for any of Tom’s relatives but she eventually found Debbie’s name on her employer’s website, which led to the phone call.
Debbie learned Jessica’s boss found a moving box on the side of the road in Tucumcari, New Mexico but couldn’t find the owner so decided to place it on a shelf in the back room of his appliance store.
“Jessica came across that box this summer. It contained Tom’s honorable discharge and other military papers, his medals, commendations, and other service memorabilia,” Debbie said.
After she contacted her brother, Tom, who lives in Iowa, neither could fully understand how his possessions were found in New Mexico because Tom had never visited that state.
While Crawford made a brief appearance via Google Meets videoconferencing platform, where he showed immense pride in the Airborne Division and was grateful, Debbie said she believed Tom gifted the items to a dying young boy who loved the division Tom had served with.
“Tom said this young man probably knew more about the paratroopers than he did,” Debbie said. “We suspect the box fell off a truck when this family moved out west after his passing.”
Dedicated veteran
Crawford, who served in the US Army from 1967 to 1969, was awarded two Purple Hearts, two bronze stars with Vs for valor and two Air medals during his service.
These items were inside the box along with a series of signed documents.
Based on Debbie’s conversation with Jessica, she wanted to ensure Crawford, or his family had been reunited with these artifacts.
“She knew in her heart that Tom, or his serving family, would want these valued keepsakes,” Debbie said.
She said the return of her brother’s medals serve as a reminder for people to honor veterans who served the United States.
“Veterans Day is much more than a federal holiday,” Debbie said. “Our service men and women are real. The pain and sacrifice they – and their families – make are real.”
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