Vietnam War keepsake stolen from local VFW

Members of the Glacier Park VFW Post 2252 in Kalispell are wondering why someone would steal a keepsake commemorating the Vietnam War.

During the weekend of Dec. 8 to 10, an unknown person removed a shadow box, about 5 square inches in size, that held a map of Vietnam and a small piece of barbed wire that a U.S. soldier had brought back.

“It was probably some idiot that did it,” VFW Manager Lori Bryden said. “They weren’t thinking about what it meant to the people who have served there. We aren’t going to press charges; we just want it returned.”

She said the VFW has had things like the theft happen before.

“We had a photo of one of our officers taken,” Bryden said. “I looked at the video footage and we saw who did it. When the man returned the photo, he explained that it was a friend of his and he really wanted to have it. I told him it wasn’t his to take.”

Bryden wasn’t able to utilize video in this instance because the camera didn’t show where the box was mounted on the wall next to the men’s room.

The Glacier Park VFW Post has been in Kalispell since 1931. It donates to charities, sponsors sports teams and offers scholarships.