Weeks before Germany surrendered to the Allied Forces in World War II, a young Chicagoan named Stephen Grabowski was stationed in Italy on his way to La Spezia when enemy forces struck his bunker with a grenade.
He survived beneath the rubble, but the 27-year-old Army private lost use of both of his legs and his fingers after a beam struck him on the neck and crushed a vertebra, according to his military records.
Some 80 years after the April 1945 attack, the long-lost Purple Heart, Bronze Star and other medals Grabowski received for his heroism during three years of military service have made their way back to his family.
Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs returned the medals to Grabowski’s great-niece Thursday during a touching ceremony at the Marion Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1301 in southern Illinois.
Chrystal Cantrell reached out to the treasurer’s office late last year seeking the medals after the Tribune tracked her down as part of its effort to find the families connected to nearly a dozen Purple Hearts that had ended up in the state’s unclaimed property vault in Springfield.
Cantrell was 6 when Grabowski died in May 1974.
“While I personally never got to meet my great-uncle,” said Cantrell, who wore an American flag-patterned dress to the ceremony, “you have no idea how much this means to me. … We must always remember we enjoy the freedoms we have because someone else stood up and did the right thing.”
As treasurer, Frerichs is custodian of the state’s unclaimed property section. He has returned 16 Purple Hearts during his three terms in office.
Frerichs launched a special effort, “Operation Purple Heart,” in 2021 to raise awareness about war medals that had ended up in the state vault after being abandoned in bank safe deposit boxes.
Last year, as Veterans Day approached, the Tribune set out to identify the Purple Heart veterans whose medals were unclaimed. After months of researching public records, unearthing decades-old war documents and interviewing people linked to the safe deposit boxes, the Tribune succeeded in 10 of the 11 cases on the treasurer’s public list — including that of Grabowski.
Eleven Purple Heart medals awarded to Illinois veterans ended up in the unclaimed property section vault of the Illinois treasurer’s office. State Treasurer Michael Frerichs launched a special effort, “Operation Purple Heart,” in 2021 to raise awareness about the abandoned war medals.
The treasurer’s office has been working to verify the claims of relatives who have come forward so far following the Tribune’s reporting, officials said. Frerichs pledged to continue his effort. As of Friday, seven Purple Hearts remained in the state vault.
“It is never too late to honor the sacrifices of the Greatest Generation,” Frerichs said of Grabowski’s medal. “This man gave much for his country. … His honor survives.”
The state had preserved Grabowski’s medals in its Springfield vault since 2010. Besides the Purple Heart, the state also had Grabowski’s Bronze Star, Good Conduct Medal and various campaign medals.
The safe deposit box was in the name of Cantrell’s father, one of Grabowski’s nephews. He had gained possession of the medals from his aunt Helen Czerwinski, the veteran’s sister, after she died in 2006. Cantrell accepted the medals on behalf of her father, who is in poor health in a Chicago nursing home.
The Tribune’s efforts last year to identify Grabowski as the owner of the medals took some work. As it turned out, the Polish last name provided by the bank was misspelled, and no one with either spelling was connected to the address through available public records.
A Bronze Star was awarded to Stephen Grabowski, a WWII vet from Chicago who died in 1974. The medal, along with Grabowski’s Purple Heart, ended up in the unclaimed property section vault of the Illinois treasurer’s office in Springfield. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
But a 1950 census documented someone with a similar name from Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood. That information led the Tribune to a relative, from the Chicago area, who provided the name of a paralyzed uncle who had been injured during WWII. The National Archives unearthed military records that confirmed Grabowski served in the war and received the type of medals held in the treasurer’s vault. The Tribune later tracked down Cantrell.
Born in Chicago to Polish immigrant parents, Grabowski worked as a checker at Goldblatt’s in Chicago before the war and enjoyed softball, table tennis and fishing, according to relatives and his military records.
A rifleman in the Army’s Company B, 473rd Infantry, he served about three years overseas. With victory in sight, he was injured in the final Allied attack during the war’s European campaign, records show. Four months later, Japan surrendered, and the war was over.
Grabowski returned to Chicago, paralyzed from the waist down, and began living at Hines VA Hospital.
John Thompson, right, representing the Good Fellows organization, presents a cash gift to Stephen Grabowski, 36, at Hines Veterans Hospital on Dec. 19, 1953. Good Fellows was a charity that gave out gifts during the holidays. (George Quinn/Chicago Tribune)
The Tribune photographed him there in December 1953 when writing about a charitable campaign during the holiday season. And he was among those at the hospital who were interviewed for a 1967 Memorial Day feature in the Chicago Sun-Times, in which Grabowski said he spent his time reading and watching television. He also enjoyed the racetrack.
Grabowski died at age 56 from kidney failure, his death certificate said. He is buried in a crypt at Resurrection Catholic Cemetery in Justice, not far from his parents and two sisters.
Anyone with information about a Purple Heart return, particularly a safe deposit box connected to Robert Cawthon, is urged to contact the Illinois treasurer’s office at claimantconnect@illinoistreasurer.gov. For more information, visit https://www.illinoistreasurer.gov/purplehearts/
cmgutowski@chicagotribune.com
Originally Published: August 22, 2025 at 3:38 PM CDT