KVUE
Purple Heart of WWII vet donated back to AFD
Seventy-one years after his death, Austin Firefighter and World War II soldier Clarence Doherty’s Purple Heart finds its way home.
A woman found the Purple Heart at an estate sale in Killeen, Texas, and after she did some research she contacted the Austin Fire Department. Doherty’s award was donated, and will reside at the Austin Fire Museum.
KEYE
Lost Purple Heart Returns to Austin
Seventy-one years ago, 31-year-old Clarence Doherty, an Austin Firefighter and soldier, lost his life in World War II. He left behind a wife and five-year-old daughter. "She'd tell stories of when she was a kid growing up, but she never mentioned he was a firefighter or his past history," said granddaughter Kathy Murchison Hays. And her mother never mentioned a Purple Heart.