WORCESTER, Mass. — Burglars stole a collection of Vietnam War and firefighting memorabilia from the home of one of the six firefighters killed in a warehouse fire in 1999.
The Telegram reported that Tim Jackson Jr., the son of Timothy Jackson Sr., who died in the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. building, was working when his wife called to say their house had been robbed.
The robber stole a white safe, which held no cash, but included irreplaceable mementos from his late father — including a replica of his firefighter badge and his war medals from Vietnam.
“These things are so important and mean so much to us,” Jackson said. “We didn’t have much from my father, and now it’s gone.”
In addition to the firefighter’s badge and war medals — including a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star — the safe contained photographs, the elder Jackson’s discharge papers, memorabilia from the fire site, rosary beads and some jewelry, according to the report.
Also in the safe was a letter of apology to the Jacksons from the family of Julie Ann Barnes, one of two homeless people who accidentally started the fatal fire, according to the report.
“Those things were all we had to pass down to the kids and grandkids,” said Buffy Jackson, Tim’s wife. “To lose things like this, it’s like losing him all over again. It’s our history.”
The Jacksons aren’t interested in prosecuting the person who took the safe, but they’re begging the person to return the memorabilia, according to the report.
“I don’t think they know what they took,” said Tim Jr. “I hope this person has a conscience. It was hard enough to lose my dad. I had so little, but the things I did have meant the world to me.”