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E-mail StoryArmy guardsman has stolen medals replaced
| Tuesday, Feb 6 2007 12:05 PM
Last Updated: Tuesday, Feb 6 2007 5:17 PM
A local military support group gave an Army National Guardsman from Bakersfield two medals Tuesday afternoon to replace those stolen from him last month.
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Sgt. Brian Reed, local soldier in the Army National Guard, who served in Iraq had his medals, honors, uniforms and Iraq souvenirs stolen from his home.
In a short presentation at the American Legion hall in downtown Bakersfield, the Sons of the American Legion, Squadron 26, presented Sgt. Brian Reed with a new Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
The 39-year-old soldier’s medals were stolen in late January after someone broke into his home. The thieves also got away with a Combat Action Badge, some of Reed’s uniforms and other items.
The burglary left Reed and his wife, Jessie, outraged and upset by the callousness of the theft. But on Tuesday, he was smiling again as he held the two medals donated by the Supply Sergeant, a military supply store on Chester Avenue.
“I’m happy there’s places like this where they go above and beyond to make sure veterans are taken care of,” Reed said of the community support. “These aren’t the medals I received at the award ceremony, but at least I can put them back on display.”
Sons of the American Legion Squadron Cmdr. Jeffrey Goines said he had to do something after reading about Reed’s plight in Tuesday’s Californian.
“I was incensed,” Goines said. “The troops need to know there are organizations out here that are 100 percent behind them.”
Reed’s overseas military service spans two wars. After serving in the Gulf War in the early 1990s, the husband and father was deployed to yet another war in Iraq in 2003.
As a motor transport operator with the 1072nd Transportation Company, Reed was exposed to snipers, remote-controlled bombs and other hostile action.
On Feb. 29, 2004, while traveling in a convoy, a roadside bomb exploded near Reed’s vehicle, blowing out the windows and spraying him with glass.
Staff Sgt. Kenneth Berry, who served with Reed in Iraq, said his friend received the Bronze Star for “getting people out of a dangerous and hostile situation.”
As thankful as he is for the community effort to replace the medals, Reed said he hopes the original medals will eventually be returned to him.
That’s the ultimate goal, Goines agreed. The squadron hopes to increase a reward established for the return of the medals.
“We feel it’s really outrageous what happened to him,” Goines said.
“And we want to put a little pressure on the investigative arm of the sheriff’s department to bring this guy to justice,” he said of the thief.
Squadron Chaplain Kerry Bulls said it’s not enough for Americans to simply thank the servicemen and women who return home after serving in Iraq and other war zones.
“We have to take care of them,” he said. “Sgt. Reed lives in this community. He’s ours.”
Anyone interested in assisting the Reed family should leave a message at the American Legion, Post 26 at 324-9453.
— Reporter Danielle C. Belton contributed to this report.