NORTH FORK, NY — It all started with a yard sale.

When Lisa A. Dabrowski was out, like so many others on the North Fork, heading from yard sale to yard sale back in April, she saw something that would ultimately end up changing lives: A Purple Heart Medal.

"I knew, right away, what it was, what it meant, and I knew what it took to be awarded one," she said.

Dabrowski has spent years dedicated to shining a light on veterans and their rich stories: She's a public information officer for Mattituck American Legion Post 861, and a member of the American Legion Auxiliary, Unit Number 1, New York.

And once she found the Purple Heart, she knew it was a treasure that needed to be protected.

In a GoFundMe she created to bring the medal back to its rightful family, "Reunite Purple Heart to WWII Recipient's Daughter," Dabrowski said at first, she had no idea who it had belonged to or how it had ended up in a yard sale.

"I have always had great respect for our veterans, and much appreciation for military-related artifacts. My grandfather served in the U.S. Army during WWI, as an interpreter and bodyguard for General Pershing. Unfortunately, my grandfather passed away 15 years before I was born, but he has always been a major influence in my life," she wrote.

The medal, she said, was being sold by individuals who had no idea who the recipient was, nor how they came into possession of it; that family wished to remain anonymous.

"However, the original recipient's name was imprinted in the case, and through much research, information was found that led to his daughter," she said.

The medal, inscribed R.S. Hollaman, and belonged to Robert Stuart Hollaman. Through a team of dedicated angels who came together to make sure a rightful reunion was realized, Hollaman's daughter Lynn Bryson, who lives in Seattle with her husband Bud, will be flying to Riverhead for a ceremony Sunday at the Riverhead Polish Hall, where she will be given her father's medal.

Dabrowski has been fundraising to make the event possible.

"We, the members of Post 861, had a sponsor who was going to take care of the cost for airfare, but has since, concluded that they are unable to do so," she wrote. "Post 861 is a very small American Legion Post, and we are seeking contributions to help defray the expenses of the upcoming event, which include airfare, facility rental, food, and lodging, etc. We are hoping to show our appreciation, and respect, for all Purple Heart recipients by honoring the service of one, and presenting the daughter with her father's medal, in person."

The ceremony will take place on Sunday, June 26, at 2 p.m. at Riverhead Polish Hall, located at 214 Marcy Avenue in Riverhead.

Speaking with Patch, Dabrowski said the medal was found in Southold Town. "It was being offered for sale for $100," she said. "I could not afford to purchase the medal myself that day, and contacted fellow members of Mattituck American Legion to see what could be done about obtaining it for the Post."

She knew that the Purple Heart was simply priceless, Dabrowski said.

"I wanted to make sure that it was given respect, and Post members offered to donate the funds to purchase it," she said. "Not knowing if it was even still available, I was able to contact the family, and after speaking to them, over the next few days, I learned that it was still available, and that they had decided to donate it, themselves, to Post 861."

After picking up the Purple Heart, Dabrowski presented it at the Post's next meeting, and they decided that it should be framed in a shadow box.

"We were going to start researching who 'R.S. Hollaman' was," she said.

Past Post 861 Commander John Ribeiro took the Purple Heart to Jamesport Art & Framing, to be framed by Kristen Asher-O'Rourke.

"Kristen was able to do immediate research on it, and through different contacts, she was able to locate Mr. Hollaman's daughter, Lynn Bryson, in Seattle, Washington," Dabrowski said.

His daughter never even knew that her father had been awarded a Purple Heart, as he never spoke of it, Dabrowski said.

"Apparently, after he returned from service, he gave the Purple Heart to his mother, with whom he was still living with in Patchogue," she said. "After that, he got married, and, eventually, moved away from Long Island. That begins a mystery, as we do not know how the Purple Heart ended up in Southold Town."

But, because all three pieces of the awarded medal were still inside the case, it is presumed that it must have been kept, safely stored in a box.

"Kristen was the first to speak with Lynn, and she was pretty shocked, and cried," Dabrowski said.

The medal had to be given to Hollaman's daughter, all agreed. "Post 861 first suggested that I go to Seattle, and personally hand-deliver the Purple Heart to Lynn, as the occasion really called for more than it being shipped on its own," she said.

The experience has been meaningful, Dabrowski said. "This journey just keeps evolving, and, in the short amount of time that is has been brought to light, it, certainly has touched many, as such a unique, human interest story. To me, finding the Purple Heart at a yard sale, brought about many feelings. I wanted to make sure that it was respected. But, it also brings to mind, how many other Purple Hearts end up being discarded, for whatever reason? Perhaps it is simply because there is no one left in a family. Could be one of many reasons. But, here we have one that is returning home. And, that brings me a tremendous relief, in knowing that it is back with family, and great joy to see how many lives have been affected in such a positive way."

Post 861 Commander Robert Devito agreed: "It's an honor and a privilege to honor someone who served their county many, many years ago when the entire world was at war and everything we knew in America was at stake."

Hollaman served in World War II. "It took everything the United States had to stop German and Japanese aggression and world domination," he said.

Describing how she felt when the medal was brought to her for framing, Asher-O'Rourke said it was "amazing."

She was so passionate about the history of the Purple Heart that she spent the better part of two days researching who Robert Hollaman was, using Google, Facebook, and Ancestry.com, she said.

"Finding his daughter was so special, " she said. "I've framed a lot of art, but to be holding something so meaningful gives you a really special feeling. To give them such a precious artifact was really, really amazing."

Asher O'Rourke was the one to call Hollaman's daughter. "She was over the moon, pretty much in tears," she said. "She didn't know it existed."

Through her research, O'Rourke learned that Hollaman was hurt in WWII by artillery shells, sustaining serious shrapnel injuries while in the Phillipines; he was hospitalized for six months.

"He hadn't shared much with his family. They had no clue the award existed," she sid.

Hollaman, she said, was born in Canada in 1923, then moved to the United States. When he returned home, all believe he gave the Purple Heart to his mother on Long Island.

"I guess it got lost in the shuffle," she said.

But the experience of helping to bring it home meant everything, she said. "It was special for me, too."

Past Post Commander Ribeiro also spoke with Patch. A veteran who served in Korea and Vietnam — his father and grandfather also served in the military — he was deeply moved to hear that Dabrowski had found the Purple Heart.

"It's a big deal to me," he said. "The sad thing is, it was found at a yard sale."

The Purple Heart is America's oldest military award, originally created by George Washington; it later evolved into an award given for wounds suffered at the hands of the enemy, he said.

"It's not what we used to call 'an everybody ribbon,'" he said. "I hate to use this expression but if you got the Purple Heart, you had skin in the game."

Ribeiro also researched Hollaman's service record, and said he was injured on the island of Mindanao in June, 1945. His injuries were so severe that they were infected and he got sepsis, he said. Hollaman was discharged in December, 1945, he said.

After returning home, Hollaman married his wife Eileen; they lived in Mastic Beach, where their daughter Lynn was born, before moving to Florida.

When Ribeiro heard the medal was for sale, he was "outraged. One of the problems is generational," he said. "Back in the day, we had a draft. A lot of people served. Now, it's all volunteers in the military and much, much smaller. There are two different cultures, military and civilian. And civilians don't necessarily mean ill will or have bad feelings — they just don't understand."

The person whose life was completely transformed by the Purple Heart medal, missing for a full 75 years, was Hollaman's only child, his daughter Lynn Bryson.

Speaking with Patch, her voice was filled with emotion. "My dad was a kind, loving person and father. Very easygoing. Everyone loved him. I could go on forever about him. He was a free spirit, always happy."

The two shared a love of fishing. "He discovered freshwater fishing and became an avid fisherman," she said. "Every weekend we would drive up from Miami to Lake Okeechobee. We would camp and fish from sunup to sundown. That's how I remember my dad in my teenage years."

Her father, Bryson said, did not reflect on the war. When asked if he ever mention his days spent in battle, she said, "Never. I did not even know he'd gotten a Purple Heart."

His injuries were a lifelong testament to his heroism, however; he had three hip replacements over the course of his life due to his shrapnel wounds.

Despite the pain and the dark memories, her father lived live with optimism, Bryson said. "He was happy up until his last day."

Although he died at 87 in 2010, her father's memory is vivid in her heart, Bryson said. He left forever life lessons. "He taught me to be happy," she said. "He taught me respect."

The story of how she was found is one that still gives her goosebumps, Bryson said.

After Dabrowski found the medal and brought it to Asher-O'Rourke for framing, O'Rourke learned through Ancestry.com that her father had three sisters; the youngest married and became Elizabeth Striano. Through that connection, O'Rourke found Bryson's cousin Janet Striano, who lives in Eugene, Oregon, and with whom she's very close.

"Janet emailed me and said, 'These people are looking for you,'" Bryson said. "I immediately called Kristen and the story unfolded. I was flabbergasted. My husband used a good word — we were gobsmacked."

The experience was a gift, Bryson said. "It was a like my father speaking out to me," she said.

If she were able to speak with her father, just once more, about the miracle of finding his Purple Heart, O'Rourke said she knew just what she'd tell him. "I'd say, 'I love you,'" she said. "'Thank you for sharing a beautiful life with me.'"

Bryson was shocked when she got the call and even more so when she learned she and her husband Bud would be flown from their home in Seattle to Long Island for the ceremony. Her mother's relatives, who still live in Mastic Beach, will be attending the ceremony. Her family also had a relative in Orient, she said.

Reflecting on how the medal was found, Bryson said she, like the others, believes her father came home from the war and gave the medal to his mother Leila.

When she died, it likely went to her aunt, who her grandmother had lived with. "I'm guessing when my aunt passed my uncle just packed everything up," she said.

The series of events has been nothing short of miraculous, Bryson said. She feels that the medal was meant to find its way home to her.

And she credits all involved in the journey. "I emailed Lisa Dabrowski this morning and said, 'This is all because you went to a yard sale."

The experience has led to other, life-changing connections, including a cousin in Toronto Bryson never knew she had. And another veteran, his story so similar to her father's, who shipped out on the same day as her dad and whose service number was only four digits off from his.

That man, too, will attend the ceremony — a meeting of hearts and memories.

The medal has changed Bryson's life. "I'm very spiritual and I feel we are all one. This is bringing the community together."

She expressed gratitude for all who are honoring her father.

And, on the most deeply personal level, Bryson said, the medal is a part of her father, come home: "It's like having my dad back."

To donate to the GoFundMe, click here.

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