CONGRESS URGED TO BAN AUCTIONS OF VETS' MEDALS.

Byline: Bill Hillburg Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman urged Congress on Monday to follow California's lead and ban state and local governments from auctioning off veterans' medals at unclaimed property sales.

The Sherman Oaks Democrat said he will introduce legislation that also exempts veterans' military honors from being seized in bankruptcy actions.

``These medals are important tokens of valor and honor, they should not fall into the hands of traders and speculators,'' said Sherman, who was joined at a Capitol Hill press conference by California Controller Kathleen Connell and several veterans who earned the Purple Heart for combat wounds.

Connell, who oversees unclaimed property sales, was the moving force behind California's ban, the first in the nation. It was signed into law in May by Gov. Gray Davis. She said Monday that she was appalled at the sight of speculators buying up medals at state sales - held each year in May.

Connell said medals are often resold at high profit to collectors.

``These are not trinkets for a garage sale,'' said Connell. ``Their true value is in the deeds of the men and women who earned them. They should be retained by the winners or their heirs.''

Most of the medals in state custody are recovered from bank safety deposit boxes. The depositories are ruled abandoned by the state after their owners fail to make rental payments for three years. Contents are auctioned by the state, with proceeds going to the general fund.

Both Connell and Sherman said the legislation was urgently needed because of the overall aging of the veteran population. The Department of Veterans Affairs has estimated that 1,000 veterans of World War II die each day, on average, nationwide.

Under California's new law, Connell's office is using tax records and other data to track down owners of medals or their heirs. Medals that cannot be returned are turned over to the California National Guard Museum in Sacramento. Connell, whose office is currently searching for the owners of 88 medals, including six Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star, said she would also support protecting the military honors of California vets from bankruptcy actions.

Edward Oliver, a Maryland veteran who earned his Purple Heart as a World War II Navy Seabee, said many medals end up in the hands of impostors.

``We've had guys who never served in the military try to join the American Legion with other people's medals and fake war stories,'' he said.

Also on the military honors front, Sherman said he and Rep. Joe Baca, D-San Bernardino, are co-sponsoring legislation that would require the Congressional Medal of Honor to be fashioned from solid gold. Sherman said the nation's highest military honor now features a thin veneer of gold and costs only $35 to produce. The new medal would cost $2,000.