Thieves Take Disabled Vets' Hunting Gear

Thieves Take Disabled Vets' Hunting Gear
Detroit Free Press
by Tammy Stables
Jul 15, 2013

Thieves shot down an effort by South Lyon volunteers to help disabled military veterans by stealing nearly $18,000 in equipment used to transport gear and veterans into the woods to hunt.

Swiped sometime between July 3 and 5 was a $4,000 unmarked, black custom enclosed trailer carrying a $13,800 Polaris six-person utility vehicle used by Operation Injured Soldiers volunteers.

Loran Symonds, 44, who injured his back lifting bombs onto Harrier jets in Baghdad, Iraq, and Bahrain during Operation Desert Storm, calls the outings "therapy." He describes the theft as "like walking up and spitting in someone's face."

"Vietnam veterans, those guys aren't able to walk long distances," said Symonds of McMillan.

"(Soldiers) who are returning now who had it a lot worse than what I did -- with all the IEDs -- they're coming home with missing limbs. So this thing was like a lifeline. For someone to steal that, it's unbelievable."

Pamela Bijansky, one of the founders of Operation Injured Soldiers, said the trailer disappeared from outside the group's office at her dry-cleaning store, Parkside Cleaners, 22645 Pontiac Trail in South Lyon.

Two trailers next to the stolen trailer displayed the words "Operation Injured Soldiers," but the stolen trailer did not have the plastic signage applied.
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