thedrifter
04-28-07, 06:13 PM
Sword returned to former Marine after 17 years
The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Apr 28, 2007 16:09:30 EDT
JONESBORO, Ark. — When Bill Brickey Jr. was in the Marine Corps long ago, he failed to lock his truck on one occasion, and a thief took his ceremonial sword from the vehicle.
Seventeen years later, Brickey has his sword back because of the determination of another former Marine and a Florida woman.
“I still can’t believe it,” said the Jonesboro man, whose father and three of his brothers also served in the U.S. Marine Corps. “I’m grateful. It’s like a family heirloom has been returned to me.”
Brickey was passing through Jacksonville, Fla., in 1990 when he made an overnight stop to sleep at the naval air station there. He went to get something to eat and failed to lock his truck. His sword and briefcase, which contained his orders, were gone when he got back.
Later, Donna Lewis of Osage, Fla., found the sword in a ditch and realized its importance. But she had no luck finding Brickey, whose name was engraved on the weapon.
Not long ago, she mentioned the sword to Bill Hanson, a former Marine. Hanson had worked as a military police officer while in the service and as a police investigator in California before retiring and moving to Jacksonville, Fla.
Hanson also realized how important the ceremonial sword would be to a Marine officer, and he began a search with the name and serial number on the sword.
His search led him to Brickey, who got an early-morning phone call last week, informing him that he would soon have his sword again.
Hanson shipped the sword with a note that said: “Please don’t feel that any type of reward or reimbursement is in order. The sacrifices you and yours have made for this country is more than payment enough for me.”
Brickey, who spent 20 years in the Marines, said he bought the sword after he became a noncommissioned officer. The weapon is a ceremonial piece worn on special occasions and at special events as part of the Marine dress uniform. He bought the sword for about $450.
Brickey said he plans to put the sword in a special display.
Ellie
The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Apr 28, 2007 16:09:30 EDT
JONESBORO, Ark. — When Bill Brickey Jr. was in the Marine Corps long ago, he failed to lock his truck on one occasion, and a thief took his ceremonial sword from the vehicle.
Seventeen years later, Brickey has his sword back because of the determination of another former Marine and a Florida woman.
“I still can’t believe it,” said the Jonesboro man, whose father and three of his brothers also served in the U.S. Marine Corps. “I’m grateful. It’s like a family heirloom has been returned to me.”
Brickey was passing through Jacksonville, Fla., in 1990 when he made an overnight stop to sleep at the naval air station there. He went to get something to eat and failed to lock his truck. His sword and briefcase, which contained his orders, were gone when he got back.
Later, Donna Lewis of Osage, Fla., found the sword in a ditch and realized its importance. But she had no luck finding Brickey, whose name was engraved on the weapon.
Not long ago, she mentioned the sword to Bill Hanson, a former Marine. Hanson had worked as a military police officer while in the service and as a police investigator in California before retiring and moving to Jacksonville, Fla.
Hanson also realized how important the ceremonial sword would be to a Marine officer, and he began a search with the name and serial number on the sword.
His search led him to Brickey, who got an early-morning phone call last week, informing him that he would soon have his sword again.
Hanson shipped the sword with a note that said: “Please don’t feel that any type of reward or reimbursement is in order. The sacrifices you and yours have made for this country is more than payment enough for me.”
Brickey, who spent 20 years in the Marines, said he bought the sword after he became a noncommissioned officer. The weapon is a ceremonial piece worn on special occasions and at special events as part of the Marine dress uniform. He bought the sword for about $450.
Brickey said he plans to put the sword in a special display.
Ellie