I have some WW2 medals, some with serial numbers, some without. I am looking for the owner. How do I find who these medals belong to?

If you share the serial number(s), maybe we can help identify who they were issued to.That would be a start. Unless the medals without serial numbers have names on them, and unless they belong to the same individual(s) with serial numbered medals, it would be nearly impossible (unless the medals were very very sparsely issued/awarded).

Dan

They probably aren't serial numbers, but medal numbers. Early medals were numbered, but they stopped about the time World War II started. There are indexes to the early medal numbers--they've even been published in books by medal collectors--but you probably won't necessarily be able to track a World War II medal by the medal number back to its original owner.

Some medal numbers were just a series of digits, others began with the letter M- which indicated they were struck by the United States Mint. Still others begin with No.

The medal numbers would be found generally along the edge of the medal.

If it's an engraved number on the back of the medal along with a name, that's a different story.

Here is a picture of what I have. Some have numbers on the box. Some medals have an engraving on the back but no numbers or names.  I am trying to research who the owner(s) may be. Any idea how I would go about finding this out?   I am hoping you will be able to zoom in on the image to see the information on the boxes.  If not I can take other pics specific to each box. THank you

Any box with a barcode on it is a current (new) production contract--it's not a fake or copy, because the government is still having those medals made--but they are no longer numbering any of the medals you are showing.

When you say there is "engraving" on the back, what do you mean? Every Bronze Star Medal, for example, says "Heroic or Meritorious Service in a circle around the back. It's not engraving--it's part of the medal itself. Similarly, the Purple Heart has cast into the back "For Military Merit." They all say that.

So I would suspect that all of these medals are "mint in box, never issued."

Thank you for this clarification. is there any way I can use the barcode to find out who they belong to?  The back of the Purple Heart says For Military Merit. The Bronze Star has something on the back in a circle but its too small for me to read, I have to get a magnifying glass. Ultimately, how can I get these medals to the rightful family?? Thank you again for your assistance.

I'm saying they were likely never issued. The World War II Victory Medal has a date of 04/89, that is either the manufacture date or the contract award date. When the government issues the Asia-Pacific and European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, they always come with campaign stars on them--you can't be awarded them without at least one campaign star. The fact that they are still sealed in the plastic envelopes tells me they weren't issued to anyone, because the government puts the stars on them before they mail them out. A Bronze Star Medal or a Purple Heart would have been presented in case, the fact that they're still in plastic bags, again, tells me that they were never issued--and if they were issued post-war, they are always engraved with the recipient's name, like the one below.