Oregon family pleads for return of late Vietnam vet’s jacket after ‘devastating’ theft

When Vicky Roller retrieved her vehicle from valet parking Saturday at a Portland, Oregon, hotel, she found a thief had broken a window and stolen everything inside, she wrote on Facebook.

“I had Chapstick and they took Chapstick,” the Newport, Oregon, resident said, KOIN reported.

But the thief also made off with an Air Force jacket owned by her father, who died a year ago, Roller wrote on Facebook. The 22-year military veteran served in Vietnam.

The jacket had become a prized keepsake of her father to the family, especially to her son, Lex, who hopes to become a pilot, Roller wrote on Facebook.

“It was something he was really proud of, so to realize something like that was missing, it was just devastating,” Roller said, KOIN reported. “When you lose somebody it’s really sad, but you can’t be sad forever. So you find those things that are special to you, that make you smile when you think about them and when you see them.”

Roller’s Facebook post has been shared more than 1,400 times, and Portland police also have helped spread the word, asking people to be on the lookout for the jacket, which has the name “ROLLER” stitched over one pocket, The Oregonian reported.

“For a lot of people, it’s just a jacket,” Roller said, KATU reported. “But there are people that serve in the military, and they take a lot of pride in that — their families take a lot of pride in that. And so, that so many people are trying to get something back that seems very small means a lot to us.”

Roller wrote on Facebook that she’s “praying my dad’s jacket can find its way back home.”

“It’s important to us,” Roller said, KOIN reported. “If they need a jacket, we’ll buy them a jacket. But it’s important to us.”

Portland police asked that anyone with information on the theft or the jacket contact them at 503-823-3333.

This story was originally published April 10, 2019 at 8:25 AM with the headline "Oregon family pleads for return of late Vietnam vet’s jacket after ‘devastating’ theft."