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Vintage World War II Medical Kit Found At Sharpsburg Thrift Shop

SHARPSBURG (KDKA) -- St. Vincent de Paul in Sharpsburg is one of six area thrift shops that benefits more than 100,000 people in need. People who work there never know what the next day will bring.

"It was right through here, in our processing room, that we found the item," operations director Carolyn Kintzing says, as she indicates the door to the loading dock. "That's where the footlocker was. It came in right through the back door. And when workers unpacked the footlocker, workers found all kinds of old treasures - one of which was a very unique item."

The World War II vintage medical kit was one of many items used by medics to patch up wounded soldiers during the war. To guarantee its preservation, the thrift shop has presented it to Michael Kraus, curator of Soldiers and Sailors Hall.

"Inside is a syringe and medicine used in World War II," the curator says. "Very typical World War II piece of medical equipment that would be used in a field medical hospital by doctors who are visiting wounded patients. You can imagine the chaos when all he wounded are coming in."

Little medical kits like this one, and the men and women who knew how to use them, played a huge role in victory.

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