KESQ.com Palm Springs, Coachella Valley - Weather, News, Sports: Purple Heart awarded family of Azusa man killed in World War II AZUSA, Calif. (AP) - Relatives of an Azusa man killed in action during World War II have received his Purple Heart. The 77-year-old sister of Gabriel Noriega accepted the medal at a ceremony Friday in the Los Angeles suburb. Relatives flew in from around the country to attend. Noriega, an Army private, died in the Philippines in 1945. Ramona Rubio says the family never knew what happened to her brother until a relative recently decided to place an inquiry with the Army. The family learned that Noriega had an unissued Purple Heart and a marked grave at a U.S. military cemetery in Manila.
