"He hadn’t lived here in a long time, but he still considered this to be his country."

Many are aware of the Ybor family’s contributions to Tampa.

In the late 1800s, Don Vicente Martinez Ybor established the city’s cigar industry and Latin District named for him. But few are aware of the family’s contribution to the United States’ freedom, Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera said. “They are a Gold Star family.”

Salvador Martinez Ybor Jr., grandson of the cigar pioneer, was killed in action in World War II. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.

At 1 p.m. on Dec. 7., National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, the Ybor family will present his Purple Heart to the Ybor City Museum State Park.

Read more at the Tampa Bay Times