Leonard C. Brostrom - Brostrum's MOH Journey

Brostrum's MOH Journey

In the early 1950s, Brostrum's Medal of Honor was donated by his family to the Franklin County Courthouse, in Preston, where it was displayed with his picture and a few mementos. When a new set of county commissioners decided to remove the display cases, the local American Legion then displayed Brostrum's Medal of Honor. In time, local veterans dwindled and the Legion Hall was taken over by the County.

The last commander of the Preston American Legion Chapter in Preston then took Brostrum's display home for safe keeping. By this time, all of Brostrum's family had passed away except for a niece. She did not want the Medal of Honor display citing she would not be able to preserve it properly. A local lawyer then was asked to keep the display safe in his office. The medal sat there until a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, who was then the command historian for the United States Military Academy at West Point, called the lawyer doing research on PFC Brostrum's life. This eventually led to a discussion of how to properly honor Leonard C. Brostrum and display his Medal of Honor. Since Brostrum had been a lifetime member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Church History Library was contacted and agreed to preserve the Medal.

Brostrum is one of five members of the LDS Church to have received the Medal of Honor during World War II. Two other Preston, Idaho former citizens Mervyn S. Bennion and Nathan K. Van Noy were also given the Medal of Honor.