Soldiers help replace vet’s stolen medals

Far more than just a lesson about what our soldiers do for veterans, this goes a long way to explain why Stolen Valor rules mean so much to these real heroes. A disabled veteran has his medals taken away from him but soldiers decided to step up knowing how much they really do mean to those who earned them. Great story all the way around.

Soldiers help replace vet’s stolen medals

By Evan Belanger - Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser
Posted : Sunday Sep 19, 2010 9:22:05 EDT

DECATUR, Ala. — With tears forming in his eyes, disabled war veteran Scott Sharbutt said he was thankful and proud after a medal repatriation ceremony Thursday at Decatur City Hall.

The ceremony, arranged by members of Redstone Arsenal’s 2nd Medical Recruiting Battalion, replaced the Gulf War veteran’s service medals, which were stolen from his Decatur home in a burglary this month.

“I’m about to cry,” Sharbutt said after the ceremony. “I didn’t think the response was going to be this great.”

Army civilian employee Stephen Hogan, who organized the ceremony, said he and other veterans in his battalion were touched when they read Sharbutt’s story last week.

“Being a prior veteran, it caught my eye, and I saw these medals that I actually have, too, and the first thing I thought was ‘How can I assist this veteran?’ ” Hogan said. “Because once a veteran, always a veteran. It’s a brotherhood that you’re always helping and assisting as much as you can.”
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Soldiers help replace vet stolen medals