Stolen valor: Police investigating World War II medals stolen from Pocono storage unit
As Memorial Day came and went, medals and burial flags of two World War II veterans remained out of reach for a Poconos resident who reported them stolen to Pennsylvania State Police on May 13.
"It's heart-breaking, you feel violated," Shirley Von Lumm, 72, of Honesdale, said. "To lose those items bothers me more than anything."
The medals had been presented to Von Lumm's late husband's two uncles, who were brothers. The flags were given to the family upon their deaths.
Trooper Jamison Warner of the Honesdale barracks said the mementos were among items stolen from a self-storage rental unit. The unit which was burglarized is at Cross Roads Self Storage on Upper Cross Road off Route 670 in Dyberry Township, Wayne County. Some of the other items that were taken were a baseball card collection and an antique 8mm movie projector.
Von Lumm reported to State Police that she was contacted in regards to the lock missing from her storage unit. After her son checked the unit, Von Lumm said several containers from the unit were missing.
The crime occurred sometime from April 1 through May 13, while she was away, Von Lumm said.
She said it was strange in that their storage unit is in the middle, and nearby units remaineded locked. Von Lumm said her son Edward found pieces of the lock showing that it had been almost sawed in half and taken off.
"It's just one of those things. We had them in the storage unit a good seven years and we never had a problem," Von Lumm said. "We had them in a storage unit to be sure we had everything that belonged to (my husband's uncles). Quite honestly, I felt that was the safest place for them."
She affirmed that the soldiers who earned these medals were also violated.
The medals belonged to Robert J. Gibbons and his brother John J. Gibbons, both of whom were from New York City.
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They remained single and stayed with the Von Lumms for a time.
They both stayed with them when the family lived in New Jersey. After Robert died, John came to stay with them in Honesdale. Both are now deceased. Their sister Rosemary was Edward Von Lumm, Sr.'s mother.
Robert Joseph Gibbons was in the U.S. Army, serving in Company B, 346 Infantry Battalion, 87th Division (Golden Acorn). In service from 1943 through 1945, he served in France, Ardennes, Rhineland and Central Europe, and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He was a lifetime member of Astoria 29, Disabled American Veterans (DAV). Gibbons died September 15, 1988. He was laid to rest at Saint Raymond's Cemetery in Bronx, NY.
Less service information was immediately available about John Gibbons. He too served in the Army during World War II, being deployed to China, Burma and India. Like his brother, he was in combat. John later worked for the post office in New York. He died October 4, 1993.
She said that the brothers were proud to have served their country, but Robert suffered from post traumatic stress syndrome due to the war, she said, although said they didn't know what to call it then. He spent a lot of time at the VA Hospital, she said.
Both were very caring and giving individuals and loved her children, Von Lumm said. She added that John enjoyed spending time with her children when he could.
Von Lumm stated that neither of the uncles had any immediate family. She and her family retained the medals and burial flags since both had lived with them. She said she and her son had planned to eventually donate the mementos where they would be kept safe for posterity.
Expressing her bewilderment with the theft, she added that nothing taken was of significant financial value, but were sentimental for she and her family. The old projector, she said, belonged to her father.
No further information on the particular medals was available. As part of the continuing investigation, Trooper Warner said pawn shops and collectors were being checked.
Von Lumm said that they are in contact with the Army Museum in Carlisle with hopes to get her father's uncles' serial numbers and determine just what medals they had been awarded. She is also consulting a book about the 87th Division which has tables of service members who served and medals earned.
What could become of the stolen medals? There's a law on the books addressing their distribution.
The Stolen Valor Act of 2013 was signed by President Barack Obama on June 3, 2013.
This Act makes it a federal crime to fraudulently claim to be a recipient of certain military decorations or medals in order to obtain money, property, or other tangible benefit.
Anyone with possible information on the burglary and theft is asked to contact PSP Honesdale at 570-253-7126.
This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: WWII medals reported stolen in Wayne County burglary
