Back from Afghanistan Soldier's gear stolen from car

Veteran: Community response to theft 'humbling and overwhelming'
Portland Tribune
Written by Patrick Malee
Created on Friday, 16 May 2014

Police ask residents near Tanner Creek Park to look for military backpack Looking back, Daniel Tomes blames himself.

When the West Linn resident and U.S. Army veteran returned to his home near Tanner Creek Park Wednesday night, he locked the car doors but not the trunk. The only valuable item in the trunk was a military backpack stuffed with mementos from his service. Who, besides Tome, would want anything with that?

And yet, at some point during the night between Wednesday and Thursday, car prowlers broke into Tomes' trunk and stole that very backpack.

"It's ultimately my fault," Tomes said. "In all honesty, I didn't think anyone would want to take that. There's no monetary value."

The pack contained a binder with photos, official documents, service awards, a letter from the President and an original Bronze Star certificate that was awarded to Tomes on his last combat tour in Afghanistan.

The pack is in Army Combat Uniform (ACU) pattern, which is the camouflage of the United States Army. It had a patch on it that read "229 Training Brigade."

Police are asking everyone in the area of Tanner Creek park to check their yards and trash cans to see if the thieves discarded the backpack. If it is found, contact the WLPD at 503-635-0238 and an officer will pick it up.

While the ribbons and medals were important, Tomes considered the loss of official letters and documents to be the most troubling.

"There may have been a few medals or ribbons, but you can replace those," Tome said. "The real thing was the original certificates and all the letters and stuff I had gotten all over world. I had Brazilian jump wings, Canadian jump wings ... and I don't think they're going to be able to replace those."
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