SPOTSYLVANIA, Va. — A retired lieutenant colonel in the Marine Corps who served in Vietnam can now proudly display all of the medals he earned.
The medals, ribbons and pilot's wings were stolen when Thomas Faleskie's home in Spotsylvania, Virginia, was broken into back in January 2019, the local sheriff's office said.
The detective assigned to his case, F. Corona, is also a retired sergeant major with the Marine Corps. He was quickly able to identify and charge three thieves, all of whom pled guilty. But, without recovering the medals, Corona didn't feel justice was served.
He was able to track down many of the stolen items at different pawn shops across town, but many of the service medals, ribbons and pilot's wings were still missing. Corona recruited his supervisor First Sergeant G. Hamilton to help him replace the remainder of the awards.
Hamilton is also a former captain in the Marine Corps.
After contacting multiple companies, Medals of America out of South Carolina replaced the awards and put them in a shadow box.
Ret. LTC. Faleskie's name and service dates (21 Jul. 1958 - 31 Jan. 1982) are on a plaque at the bottom.
The Spotsylvania Sheriff's Office presented the new medals to Faleskie during a socially distant ceremony. Members of the Jack Maas Marine Corps League detachment 1379 were also present.
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