Marine's truck, memorabilia stolen on Veterans' Day

NEWTON COUNTY, Ga. - It was bad on so many levels; the thief stole from a U.S. Marine veteran at a Veterans’ Day Bar-B-Q with other vets present.

“That’s the remnants of what the wheel, spokes were,” said Marine veteran Drew Chandler as he pointed to his 2001 GMC Sierra Diesel pickup.

It’s the truck he worked hard to buy but it’s now mangled, with a bent damaged rim, a banged up side and more.

The truck was stolen from outside his cousins home Covington nearby in the early morning hours after a Veterans Day Bar-B-Q with family and other Marine Vets present.

“We all go to bed that evening and wake up the next morning and figure out that my trucks missing,” said Chandler.

Police said the truck was found abandoned in northwest Atlanta, damaged from the thief riding on the rim.

Chandler said his .45 caliber handgun, his cellphone, wife’s purse and other items were stolen along with a back pack with something very special inside.

“You see our name and U.S. Marines and this is something you can’t replace,” said Alishia Chandler as she pointed to a picture of the Chandler’s youngest son swaddled in her husband’s camouflage Marine uniform.

He called them cammies, they seemed more like jammies with the baby boy wrapped in them.

The cammies were part of Drew Chandler’s Marine gear from when he was defending our country in Iraq in 2006.

“Some of those things you can't replace you know and it definitely is real personal for me,” said a tearful Alishia Chandler.

The Atlanta Police Department report said eyewitnesses saw a young man flee after abandoning the truck.

“From what we know, so far, he knows, so far, he pulled into the neighborhood to the end of the cul de sac, turned the hazards on and bailed,” said Drew Chandler.

The Chandlers, sweethearts from Loganville High School, proud parents of three boys, said the theft of the truck, cammies and everything else, is a teachable moment for their family.

“There are bad things that happen in this world, but you still have to respect those around you,” said Alishia Chandler.

Her husband Drew hopes the thief learns the same lesson before he comes across someone with a weapon.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Atlanta Police Department or the Newton County Sheriff's Office, which are both working on the case.