The family of Stefan Jankowski, a Canadian soldier who passed away in 2011, has been reunited with a military medal that went missing during that time. Jankowski, hailing from Windsor, Ontario, served as a trooper with the Royal Canadian Dragoons and earned the medal for his service in Afghanistan.
Following Jankowski’s death at the age of 25 due to post-traumatic stress, Kyle Scott, a retired soldier from Alberta, who specializes in locating lost or stolen medals, discovered Jankowski’s medal in a collection and purchased it for approximately $400. Scott emphasized the rarity of such medals in society and highlighted the various ways in which they can be misplaced or passed down through generations.
After Scott made an appeal on social media, it took just 30 minutes for him to connect with Jankowski’s family. The initial contact was with Jankowski’s daughter, Destiny, who was only seven years old when her father passed away, two years after his deployment. Destiny expressed her surprise at learning about her father’s medal, which had gone missing around the time of his funeral.
The medal was returned to the family in a ceremony held at the Legion hall in Windsor. The General Campaign Star for South-West Asia, the medal awarded to members of the Canadian Forces for deployment in the presence of an armed enemy, was presented to Jankowski posthumously. The emotional ceremony provided an opportunity for Destiny to learn more about her father’s impact on others and his unwavering dedication as a soldier and person.
Destiny shared her admiration for her father’s character and expressed gratitude for the reunion with his medal, which symbolized a part of him coming home and opened up new connections and cherished memories for the family.