WW II medal stolen from 91-year-old veteran's car
CBC News | Posted: July 31, 2016 7:33 PM | Last Updated: July 31, 2016
Medallion was gift from captain of HMCS Fredericton when ship was docked in Cornwall
Edgar Hughes was honoured with a bronze medallion for escorting Canadian troops to the beaches of Normandy during the Second World War — and last week, it was stolen from the 91-year-old's car.
Although the Cornwall, Ont., man hopes the medal is returned to him, Hughes said he's not angry.
"Anger has no purpose. No. What do you achieve?" he told CBC Radio's All In A Day on Friday.
On Tuesday morning, Hughes noticed the passenger side door of his car was slightly open.
The medallion — a gift from the captain of the HMCS Fredericton when the ship was docked in Cornwall in 2010 — had been in the car because Hughes was in the middle of a move. It was taken overnight.
"It was emotional. I was very proud," he said.
Heroic act aided D-Day invasion
Hughes was a member of the Royal Navy. Under attack in the English Channel on June 6, 1944, Hughes said he released "the thickest white smoke you ever saw in your life," hiding the ship he was on and those behind it from the enemy.
"The shelling stopped," Hughes recalled. His actions allowed soldiers to make it to shore and storm the beaches of Normandy in the D-Day battle that helped secure victory for the allied forces in war.
A second medal — a gift from a friend — was also taken from his car. Hughes said he hopes whoever took the medals hears his story.
"It's really possible, deep in their heart, they just might say, 'We're sorry. We made a mistake.'"