Tulsa man finds Purple Heart medal, tracks down owner’s relative

TULSA, Okla. — An Oklahoma man is reuniting a family with a piece of its history.

Brent Williams, of Tulsa, told KOKI-TV he makes a living buying storage units online then fixing and selling what’s inside.

Williams said he recently found a Purple Heart medal in a 5x5 storage unit packed with other items.

The medal had been awarded to Sgt. Ernest Edgar Wilkerson Jr., a Marine, who was wounded in Korea on Dec. 6, 1950.

Williams posted his findings in the “Forgotten Oklahoma” Facebook group, and soon, people from all over the state were helping him to find Wilkerson’s relatives.

Wilkerson died in a car accident in Oceanside, California, on April 12, 1951, according to California death records and his obituary in the Waco Times Herald. He was 25, dying two months shy of his 26th birthday.

Wilkerson is buried at Rosemound Cemetery in Waco, Texas, according to the Findagrave website.

Someone managed to connect Williams with Wilkerson’s niece in Mississippi. He plans to send her the medal.

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