Each day, we will bring you a photo of the day, showcasing the sights of Williamson County (and beyond). Whether it’s a photo of a local landmark, a park, a photo from an event or just a great photo from the area, we want to showcase our local communities throughout the next year.
Photo of the day: Tennessee State Treasurer David H. Lillard, Jr. returned four missing Word War II medals to the family of the late James Sanders III, a U.S. Army veteran from Nashville.
The Tennessee Department of Treasury, Division of Unclaimed Property, was able to connect with the medal recipient’s son, Jai Sanders, who claimed the medals.
James Clifford “Jimmy” Sanders served in the U.S. Army from February 1942 – October 1962, retiring as a Master Sergeant and ROTC Instructor for the Department of Military Science and Tactics at Virginia State University. After being drafted into WWII, he primarily served as quartermaster for the majority of his time in both the European Theater and Pacific Theater. He also later served in the Korean War. His time in combat included tours in Guam, Germany, Korea, and the Mariana Islands.
The Unclaimed Property Medal Protection program is due to legislation passed by the Tennessee General Assembly in May 2011 to protect military medals for Tennessee veterans by asking banks and other organizations with abandoned safe deposit boxes to turn over any military medals, decorations, and awards presented to a member of the Armed Forces or National Guard.
James Sanders, born in December 1918, was raised on Trinity Lane in the Bordeaux neighborhood of Nashville. He graduated in 1936 from Pearl High School. MSG Sanders worked as a clerk for the U.S. Postal Service in the Frist Center – the building that today houses the Frist Art Museum – for the remainder of his civilian career. MSG Sanders, who died in 1996, was buried with full military honors in Nashville National Cemetery, a US veterans cemetery in Madison.
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