One of the state treasurer’s responsibilities is to maintain an “unclaimed property” collection. These items are chiefly from forgotten insurance policies or safe deposit boxes.

Part of that, says treasurer Mike Frerichs, is “Operation Purple Heart,” the latest deployment of which was Sunday. Army Speciaist Kenneth Wiest earned the medal during his service in Vietnam, but he was also a Gulf War veteran. The O’Fallon man passed away in 1998.