Low-life thief of poppy money is no match for somebody who’s fought a bloody war.
Read: Veteran, 84, thumps gun-wielding thief at legion
It had happened in minutes, just after noon. After the robbery attempt, Gray and a few others took the money to the bank. Dietsch got back to sorting the poppy boxes.
By 2 p.m., news of the troubling attack began to spread. Throngs of media found the veteran quietly nursing a bottle of beer at the back of the Legion’s basement bar.
I hope the beer was on the house — he deserved it!
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The first thing that went through my head as I read this account was that here’s a concrete display of generational devolution of civil ethos. Then I recalled how this vet’s generation had it 100 times worse than that gun-wielding bedwetter (depressions, poverty, death from common disease, world wars) and yet they not only survived but flourished and built the most free affluent society in world history in the post war era. They were deemed the greatest generation – I concur, My Dad and relatives in that same generation would have done pretty much as that Vet did in defending their property and nation from criminal attack. Then I thought; my God even in their waning years they are still defending what’s right – defending us.
Good thing I wasn’t there or that punk would curse his mother for giving birth to him – attacking vets, stealing poppy donations – does it get any lower? I hope they track down this anamal and publish his name. He deserves to be the most hated man in Canada. #-(
Damn I wish I lived there so that I could go over to the Branch and buy him a beer!
There’s something wrong with your link. Here’s the story from the TO Star:
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/725308–veteran-84-thumps-gun-wielding-thief-at-legion?bn=1
I went to the closest Legion I could find after attending the ceremony at Toronto City Hall 2006. I had tried to find an RCAF wing, but it turns out they’re all closed now and the remnants of the organization shared only one of the Legions in TO. When I brought this up in conversation with one of the Legionnaires, they mentioned that every year, Legions close in TO, and the one we were in, was likely not to open the following year.
I never checked to see if it was still there since, but the truth that Legions are closing all over Ontario, and I can only assume the rest of Canada, is a fact. In the smaller communities, they have the virtue of being one of the few community centers available, which has kept them alive.
I understand John Dietsch’s sentiment completely after doing what seemed the natural and right thing to do. We all like to be recognized for our service, but when it draws to much attention, I know I feel uneasy…embarrassed…kinda like an attention whore.
I hope there’s as much effort put into reporting this story as there will be in finding the culprit.
BZ John Dietsch. Makes me proud.
Thanks, Kaffir. I’ve fixed the link now in the original post. (Shouldn’t post when I’m tired I guess).
It probably was not a good idea to try to take on someone with a gun, but I’m proud of him too. I’m also thankful he wasn’t hurt.
The thief should not worry. Right now an army of scumbag lawyers are probably stampeding over each other to sue the Legion on his behalf. They’ll make certain he gets a settlement that is much larger than any amount he might have stolen.
I hope you’re wrong, John. But if there are lawyers out there who want that kind of bad publicity, I’m sure they can be accommodated.
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