Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity announced that the state’s initiative to return unclaimed military decorations is now listed on MissingMoney.com, a national database for unclaimed property. The website, maintained by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, allows individuals to search for unclaimed items across nearly all states.
Treasurer Garrity, a 30-year U.S. Army Reserves veteran, has made the return of these military decorations a personal mission. Since the initiative’s inception, the Treasury has returned 732 military decorations, including 434 returned by Garrity herself. These include 11 Purple Hearts and three Bronze Stars. An additional 450 decorations remain in the vault, awaiting return.
Since 2018, the Pennsylvania Treasury has provided a dedicated search tool for unclaimed military decorations on its website at patreasury.gov/unclaimed-property/Medals, allowing individuals to view a list of unclaimed items.
Garrity also acknowledged former state Treasurer Joe Torsella for initiating the program, which has become a key focus for her administration. Most of the unclaimed decorations come from abandoned safe deposit boxes, which must be reported to the state after three years of inactivity.
In addition to military medals, the Treasury is responsible for returning over $4.5 billion in unclaimed property, which includes items like dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks, and collectibles. Over one in ten Pennsylvanians has unclaimed property, with the average claim valued at $1,600.
To avoid property ending up in Treasury’s care, individuals are encouraged to maintain updated records, inform banks of address changes, and cash checks promptly. Pennsylvanians can search for unclaimed property at patreasury.gov/unclaimed-property, and those who have lived outside Pennsylvania can visit MissingMoney.com to search other states’ databases.
