A West Vancouver veteran and Order of Canada recipient is reeling after a thief broke into his home and made off with some of his most cherished merit and military medals.
Murray Newman, 89, who served in the U.S. Navy’s hospital corps and the U.S. Marine Corps during the Second World War and was a founding director of the Vancouver Aquarium came home from lunch Monday to find his home on 4900-block of Beacon Lane had been broken into.
“I guess they were looking for money. They didn’t find any money but they found my various medals that I’ve been given over the years,” Newman said. “I was relieved that (the thief) hadn’t done more damage and taken more things but losing all these medals was very sad for me. I’m very old. These things have been accumulated over a very long period of time and so they represent different periods of my life and I hate losing them.”
Among the lost treasures: all his U.S. Navy ribbons, two Second World War medals, the Canadian Centennial Medal, a Queen’s Golden Jubilee medal and the Order of Canada, the second highest award for merit in the country. Newman received the medal title of officer of the order for his role in getting the aquarium started.
“It was a tremendous honour to get the Order of Canada for this. The aquarium really is an extraordinary institution,” he said.
Spared in the ransacking was Newman’s Order of B.C. medal. It is a sad coincidence that the military ribbons and medals should disappear on the eve of Remembrance Day, Newman said.
West Vancouver police are now investigating the break-and-enter and have called in their forensics team in hopes of finding a suspect.
Police responded to the home around 1:40 p.m. Monday when the burglar triggered the home’s alarm. It appears the suspect got in by removing a sliding glass door with a crowbar.
“It’s consistent with somebody getting in, realizing the alarm was sounding and grabbing something of any perceived value quickly and getting out,” said Jeff Palmer, West Vancouver police spokesman.
The medals likely do not have much monetary value, especially on the black market, Palmer said, but the sentimental value is immeasurable.
“To have him lose these significant personal artifacts one week ahead of Remembrance Day, it’s very difficult to capture in words how significant they are to him and how significant they should be to anyone with any kind of appreciation of these accomplishments,” he said.
Anyone with information about the theft or information that could assist in return of the stolen medals is asked to contact West Vancouver Police at 604-925-7300.
“We would obviously want to be able to investigate and hold somebody accountable, but above everything, we would want this gentleman to have his medals back,” Palmer said.
