Sheriff replaces medals stolen from Vietnam veteran

SPOTSLYVANIA, Va. — A Virginia sheriff replaced the medals stolen from a Vietnam veteran more than a year ago.

Thomas Faleskie was surprised to see a crowd Friday at the Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office as he was given replacement service medals, ribbons and wings he earned while serving in the Marines from 1958 to 1982, WRAL reported.

When Faleskie’s home was burglarized in January 2019 thousands of dollars of items were stolen as well as the medals.

A detective assigned to the case, is a retired sergeant major who served in the Marines. In addition to quickly finding the suspects, he worked with his supervisor, who was a captain in the Marines, to replace the awards.

“Usually that’s what you expect from a fellow Marine is total support and a bond of friendship,” Faleskie told WRAL. “I’m still in a state of shock because I never expected this and I still can’t believe it happened but I’m very happy.”

The three people who were arrested and charged in the burglary pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to commit grand larceny, according to the sheriff.

Cox Media Group