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Canadian vet’s WWI medals find home with grandson in Poland
POLAND
After a lengthy search, Canadian-born John Stapleton’s World War I Army medals rest in a place of honor in the home of his grandson, Edvin John Lind of Poland.
Stapleton, who lived most of his life in Youngstown, received three medals while serving in the 40th and 80th battalions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force attached to the British Army during World War I in Europe: The British War Medal, Victory Medal and 1914-15 Bronze Star.
They are displayed in a glass-topped table joining memorabilia of Edvin’s father, Edvin A. Lind, who was decorated with three Purple Hearts while serving in the U.S. Army during World War II in Africa and Italy; and of his grandfather, John Stapleton, including several decorative French postcards sent to Miss Dora McKay of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, before John and Dora were married and moved to the United States.
The search for John Stapleton’s descendants began with Canadian Air Force veteran Joseph Maurice “Moe” MacIsaac.
In March 2014, he learned a woman in a thrift store had found the medals and when he acquired them, he became determined to give them to a direct descendant of Stapleton’s.
The first part was easy.
Stapleton’s name and rank were on the medals: But, though there are many Stapletons in the area where he lives in Nova Scotia, MacIsaac was unable to find a direct descendant of John and Dora there.
With the help of a friend, Mary Steele, whose hobby is ancestry research, they located John and Dora, who had lived much of their lives in Youngstown.
According to his obituary in The Vindicator, John was 84 when he died of a stroke March 23, 1976. He and Dora, and a son, James Byron “Barney” Stapleton, are buried in Tod Homestead Cemetery in Youngstown. A daughter, Sue, still lives in Youngstown.
When he learned that Lind had been found, MacIsaac said he was “flabbergasted and excited.”
Not wanting the medals to get lost in the Christmas rush, in January he sent them to the Linds via United Parcel Service.
“I really totally enjoyed the whole thing,” he said.
Because stories were also written in Nova Scotia about the search, MacIsaac said he finds himself being recognized.
On one occasion, Mac- Isaac said he was talking to a lady in Sidney who told him she was born in Youngstown and Edvin is a cousin she didn’t know she had.
“The medals are exactly where I wanted them. I feel good for doing it. I feel real good about it,” he said.
“Joe and Mary were so nice to do all of this. It is remarkable,” said Lind and his wife, Ann, both nurses.
“He knew the medals and knew what my grandfather had to go through to get them,” Lind said.
“Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to personally thank them. This is a piece of history,” he said.