On July 3, the Editor-In-Chief of the NYC Daily Post, Steven London, received an email from Joan Yellin about boxes of military certificates under his name. They were sent to Yellin’s brother before his passing, and she asked London if she could send them to him.
Trying to find the right person that matches the name on the certificates, Yellin can only speculate why her brother held onto them, to begin with. Despite him never being in the military, he always had high respect for military personnel, especially veterans like London.
London’s name is on multiple certificates from the United States and two from the Republic of Vietnam. However, the authenticity of the certificates is all-around questionable.
They date back to the 1960s, some about a year apart. The only certificate that does not have a year dated is the certificate of appreciation from the United States Army.
Additionally, all the dates on the certificates look copied and pasted onto different text. The month, date and last two digits of the year look bolder than the rest of the letters on paper. Even the date on the certificate for the Distinguished Service Cross does not line up with the rest of the text.
Lastly, these certificates were sent many decades after the fact. Unless there is another person named Steven London who was a veteran, the information of the years served does not match the Editor-In-Chief London. He did serve in the Army, but from 2004 to 2013 rather than the 1960s.
After Joan Yellin contacted the NYC Daily Post about the mystery certificates, she continued her personal search with the help of the organization Together We Served. The organization provided her contact information for a potential veteran and relative in Rhode Island who could be the Steven London referenced in the award certificates. Ongoing attempts to contact him have not been successful.
Overall, there is little to no other information about the person aside from the dates. However, one thing is certain, there is another Steven London out in the world.
If you have information about Steven London and the mystery certificates, you can reach out to the NYC Daily Post at communications@nycdailypost.com
Edited by: Bernard Grant
Featured Image: Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
