A Royal Canadian Air Force pilot received a not-so-warm welcome to Winnipeg on Sunday morning.
Maj. Devon Julian, who stopped for the night in the Manitoba capital en route from Trenton, Ont., to his new post in Yellowknife, N.W.T., said his vehicle was broken into and some important military mementos were stolen.
Julian’s uniform, medals and, most importantly, his pilot’s logbook, were all taken from his car, which was parked at the Fairfield Inn and Suites on Ellice Avenue, near the Richardson International Airport.
Julian told 680 CJOB he went out to the truck on Sunday morning to move some luggage around and make sure there was room for his kids and dog, only to discover a smashed window and that the vehicle had been ransacked.
“When I was cleaning up, I found that quite a few items were gone,” he said.
“They stole a suitcase and some kids’ clothing and that… a couple of uniform jackets, they took all my military medals, and my flying logbook as well.”
Julian said the medals — for his decade-plus of military service and for missions flown over Iraq and Syria — are replaceable, and so are the numbers from the logbook, but the book had a lot of sentimental value as well.
“There’s going on 10 years of notes (in the logbook),” he said.
“From commanding officers wishing me well on postings, memories of flights… things like that.”
Julian said his family is fortunate to have a number of friends in Winnipeg, so they were able to reach out for help when the incident occurred, but the whole thing has been frustrating — especially because, as it turns out, the security camera that would’ve had the best view of the crime taking place was apparently obscured by a tree.
The logbook, and even the medals, Julian said, should be easily identifiable — and because they’re the property of the Department of National Defence, anyone who finds any of the stolen items should be able to easily get them back to their owner.
“They can take it to any police station, post office… leave it in a Timmies and it’ll find its way back.
“The medals are also engraved with my rank and name and service number, so if they’re found anywhere, they’ll probably come back to me.”