Snaquebite
02-13-2007, 20:04
TV show to focus on stolen Medals of Honor
By Melissa Vogt - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Feb 13, 2007 19:54:10 EST
“America’s Most Wanted” wants to crack a case they feel endangers the honor and integrity of U.S. service members who have received the nation’s highest award for valor.
“The Medal of Honor Heist” episode will air at 9 p.m. eastern and 8 p.m. central this coming Saturday on Fox.
The episode re-enacts the June 27, 2004, theft of seven original Medals of Honor from a display case in the museum maintained by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.
Viewers will be asked to call the program’s anonymous hotline, 1-800-CRIME-TV, if they have tips that could help recover the medals.
The Medal of Honor exhibit is part of the Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum aboard the dry-docked aircraft carrier Yorktown near Fort Sumter, S.C. It groups the medal’s history into eight eras — the Civil War, Indian Campaigns, the wars of American expansion, peacetime, World War I and II, Korea and Vietnam.
Each of the nabbed awards is inscribed with the recipient’s name. They date from the Civil War to Vietnam. With the trail grown cold, FBI agents turned to the “Most Wanted” producers for help.
Senior correspondent Tom Morris agreed to tackle the story after being approached by producer Steve Katz.
“It’s an interesting and different sort of crime, an egregious one against the people who bled and died for their country,” Morris said.
Investigators haven’t been able to determine why these particular seven medals were stolen, he said. Other Medals of Honor were left untouched in the same display case.
“There’s no one common denominator.”
However, Morris said investigators believe the best clue to finding the thief or thieves may be a few things also stolen that night — a garrison cap and khaki jacket that once belonged to Adm. William F. Halsey Jr., who commanded South Pacific forces in World War II.
If those ended up in the military memorabilia market, they could lead investigators to someone connected with the crime.
While working the story, Morris interviewed Medal of Honor recipients.
“I met some really amazing men who did amazing things in the dark hour that the ultimate was demanded of them,” he said.
“They would never would sit around and tell war stories. You have to pry it out of them.”
Missing medals
The Medals of Honor for these seven service members were stolen from a museum in 2004:
• Army Sgt. John Wilson, Civil War
Wilson saved his command’s lead horses from being captured March 31, 1865, at Chamberlains Creek, Va.
• Army Sgt. Brent Woods, Indian Campaign
Woods saved the lives of his comrades and other citizens Aug. 18, 1881, in New Mexico.
• Seaman Hans A. Hansen, Chinese Boxer Rebellion
Hansen’s citation is vague about his actions during the Boxer Rebellion in China, saying only that he “distinguished himself by meritorious conduct” in the relief expedition of allied forces on June 13, 20, 21 and 22, 1900.
• Marine Cpl. Donald L. Truesdell, Second Nicaraguan Campaign
While Truesdell’s unit was on patrol April 24, 1932, near Constancia, Nicaragua, a rifle grenade fell from its carrier and struck a rock, igniting the detonator. Truesdell, who later in life legally changed his name to Truesdale, rushed for the grenade, grabbed it in his right hand and attempted to throw it away from the patrol. It exploded in his hand but no one died.
• Torpedoman 1st Class John Mihalowski, May 23, 1939
The submarine Squalus was on a test dive Mary 23, 1939, when valves failed and caused the sub to sink. Mihalowski made “important and difficult dives under the most hazardous conditions” while rescuing the Squalus crew, according to his medal citation.
• Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class Owen F.P. Hammerberg, World War II (posthumously awarded)
On Feb. 17, 1945, in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Hammerberg died helping free two fellow divers were trapped in a cave-in of steel wreckage while tunneling with jet nozzles under an LST sunk in 40 feet of water and 20 feet of mud.
• Pfc. Leslie A. Bellrichard, Vietnam (posthumously awarded)
On May 20, 1967, in Kontum province, Vietnam, Bellrichard was with four other soldiers in a foxhole when their position came under attack. In the face of charging enemy soldiers, Bellrichard rose and threw hand grenades at them, forcing them to withdraw. At one point, a mortar round exploded in front of him, knocking a grenade out of his hand and into the foxhole. He threw himself on the grenade to shield his companions from the blast. He continued firing his rifle at the enemy until he died.
For more on the upcoming TV show, visit America’s Most Wanted: “The Medal of Honor Heist”
By Melissa Vogt - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Feb 13, 2007 19:54:10 EST
“America’s Most Wanted” wants to crack a case they feel endangers the honor and integrity of U.S. service members who have received the nation’s highest award for valor.
“The Medal of Honor Heist” episode will air at 9 p.m. eastern and 8 p.m. central this coming Saturday on Fox.
The episode re-enacts the June 27, 2004, theft of seven original Medals of Honor from a display case in the museum maintained by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.
Viewers will be asked to call the program’s anonymous hotline, 1-800-CRIME-TV, if they have tips that could help recover the medals.
The Medal of Honor exhibit is part of the Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum aboard the dry-docked aircraft carrier Yorktown near Fort Sumter, S.C. It groups the medal’s history into eight eras — the Civil War, Indian Campaigns, the wars of American expansion, peacetime, World War I and II, Korea and Vietnam.
Each of the nabbed awards is inscribed with the recipient’s name. They date from the Civil War to Vietnam. With the trail grown cold, FBI agents turned to the “Most Wanted” producers for help.
Senior correspondent Tom Morris agreed to tackle the story after being approached by producer Steve Katz.
“It’s an interesting and different sort of crime, an egregious one against the people who bled and died for their country,” Morris said.
Investigators haven’t been able to determine why these particular seven medals were stolen, he said. Other Medals of Honor were left untouched in the same display case.
“There’s no one common denominator.”
However, Morris said investigators believe the best clue to finding the thief or thieves may be a few things also stolen that night — a garrison cap and khaki jacket that once belonged to Adm. William F. Halsey Jr., who commanded South Pacific forces in World War II.
If those ended up in the military memorabilia market, they could lead investigators to someone connected with the crime.
While working the story, Morris interviewed Medal of Honor recipients.
“I met some really amazing men who did amazing things in the dark hour that the ultimate was demanded of them,” he said.
“They would never would sit around and tell war stories. You have to pry it out of them.”
Missing medals
The Medals of Honor for these seven service members were stolen from a museum in 2004:
• Army Sgt. John Wilson, Civil War
Wilson saved his command’s lead horses from being captured March 31, 1865, at Chamberlains Creek, Va.
• Army Sgt. Brent Woods, Indian Campaign
Woods saved the lives of his comrades and other citizens Aug. 18, 1881, in New Mexico.
• Seaman Hans A. Hansen, Chinese Boxer Rebellion
Hansen’s citation is vague about his actions during the Boxer Rebellion in China, saying only that he “distinguished himself by meritorious conduct” in the relief expedition of allied forces on June 13, 20, 21 and 22, 1900.
• Marine Cpl. Donald L. Truesdell, Second Nicaraguan Campaign
While Truesdell’s unit was on patrol April 24, 1932, near Constancia, Nicaragua, a rifle grenade fell from its carrier and struck a rock, igniting the detonator. Truesdell, who later in life legally changed his name to Truesdale, rushed for the grenade, grabbed it in his right hand and attempted to throw it away from the patrol. It exploded in his hand but no one died.
• Torpedoman 1st Class John Mihalowski, May 23, 1939
The submarine Squalus was on a test dive Mary 23, 1939, when valves failed and caused the sub to sink. Mihalowski made “important and difficult dives under the most hazardous conditions” while rescuing the Squalus crew, according to his medal citation.
• Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class Owen F.P. Hammerberg, World War II (posthumously awarded)
On Feb. 17, 1945, in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Hammerberg died helping free two fellow divers were trapped in a cave-in of steel wreckage while tunneling with jet nozzles under an LST sunk in 40 feet of water and 20 feet of mud.
• Pfc. Leslie A. Bellrichard, Vietnam (posthumously awarded)
On May 20, 1967, in Kontum province, Vietnam, Bellrichard was with four other soldiers in a foxhole when their position came under attack. In the face of charging enemy soldiers, Bellrichard rose and threw hand grenades at them, forcing them to withdraw. At one point, a mortar round exploded in front of him, knocking a grenade out of his hand and into the foxhole. He threw himself on the grenade to shield his companions from the blast. He continued firing his rifle at the enemy until he died.
For more on the upcoming TV show, visit America’s Most Wanted: “The Medal of Honor Heist”