The daughter of an Australian war hero has been left devastated by a theft.
Jenny, of Hoppers Crossing, who did not want her surname revealed, arrived home last Thursday to discover her house had been broken into and a large amount of valuable jewellery and electronics was stolen.
It wasn’t until later that she discovered items her father, Clarence Forsythe, brought back from World War II were missing.
Mr Forsythe served in Papua New Guinea and received serious shrapnel wounds before being discharged when he contracted
malaria.
He brought only two things back with him to Australia – his dog tags and a small bamboo case containing a Japanese name stamp.
Mr Forsythe died 44 years ago. His daughter said she was worried she would never get back some of her few reminders of him.
“They aren’t worth anything to them [the thieves], but they are priceless to us,” Jenny said. “My mum passed these on to me when she passed away and that’s why I’m so upset.”
Jenny said she could face not seeing her jewellery and electronics again, but she was hoping someone would return her father’s belongings.
“I’m not worried about the other stuff – it’s the name stamp and his dog tags I want back,” she said.
“This is a part of history and a reminder of what he did.”
The thief entered Jenny’s house through a small open window at the back of the property at an unknown time of day.
Information to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
