Vietnam War veteran’s home burglarized; Navy memories, medals stolen

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    LAS VEGAS, NV (KVVU ) — Someone broke into a Las Vegas veteran’s home and ransacked his apartment.

They took his high-dollar stuff, like electronics … but he can get a new TV. What he can’t replace is a box filled with medals and memories of his time in the Navy during the Vietnam War.

He got home to his apartment near Martin Luther King Boulevard and Bonanza Road around 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 14.

“The green box was in here,” said Anthony Worley, pointing to his top drawer of his dresser. “I had a belt buckle in there of tax squadron 97, I had my Vietnam service medal, I had my commendation medal, you know just stuff that was personal to me.”

Not just military memorabilia, but the burglars also stole currency he collected from other countries, jewelry and pictures. Worley was 17 when he joined the Navy in 1972.

“I had to talk my mom into letting me go,” he said.

A yearbook from boot camp was the only piece of his history he has left. Worley spent three years in the Navy and served two tours in Vietnam.

“I was just a sailor on the U.S.S Enterprise, I worked on the flight deck. I was a plane captain,” said Worley.

That’s what earned him two medals.

“Because we served in the Vietnam conflict … I saw Saigon being blown up which left an impression on me which kind of gives me PTSD,” said Worley.

The break-in didn’t help.

He said he walked inside and saw chunks of the door frame broken off and immediately knew he had been robbed.

“They stole my 48-inch flat screen, they took my Bose speaker system they took my Alexa they took a suit that I had and weird enough, they took some socks out of my top drawer,” said Worley.

The burglars also emptied out his freezer, even stole a loaf of sourdough bread.

“Who does that?” said Worley.

Worley called police then called his son.

“He said, ‘Don’t worry, pops, I got you taken care of.’ He brought me another TV, he brought me a Google system.”

But he couldn’t replace what mattered most.

“It just hurts … I’ve got cancer of the lung. I’ve got eight stints in my heart, you know? I’m just a guy trying to survive,” said Worley.

Worley said his son is trying to get his dad’s medals replaced, but his proof of military service was in that box, too. He’s hoping if the burglars try to pawn the medals, someone will remember his story.

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