14-foot Trailer used by veterans stolen from parking lot of VFW Post in Skiatook

TULSA, Okla. — The Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office is asking for help in finding a black 14-foot double-axle trailer stolen from the Gondles-Butler VFW Post 7977 in Skiatook last week.

VFW Post Commander James Glen said he believes the flat-bed trailer, which they use to help veterans move, and for parades was taken from their parking lot between last Thursday evening and Friday morning.

The VFW Post in Skiatook, which is very active post with 72 members, devotes a lot of resources to helping veterans and members of the community.

Now they’re asking for the public’s help in recovering their stolen trailer.

“The chain was wrapped around the telephone pole,” Glen explained, “over onto the trailer, and they just came in, as you can see the links on the ground, just came in here and cut it right in the center.”

Glen, who is a Desert Storm veteran, said somebody stole the VFW Post’s black 14-foot double axle flatbed trailer from their parking lot in Skiatook sometime between 9 o’clock Thursday night and 7 o’clock Friday morning.

He said the tire tracks indicate whoever stole it left the parking lot and headed down towards Sperry.

There’s no mistaking that the parking lot belongs to the VFW Post, which has plenty of signage.

The post is also home of the District 5 Honor Guard, but there’s no honor in what happened last week.

“It hurt,” Glen admitted, “I hate to use the word because it’s used so often but a little violated.”

Glen said his post, which has 72 members is very active.

They perform military honors at funerals for veterans and they’ve done 60 so far this year.

“It’s our honor to do these,” he said, “we’re all volunteer and some days we work six days a week.”

Glen said the trailer, which was donated, is used by members of the post and by the community.

They also participate in community service projects and donate to other charitable organizations. Glen said buying a new trailer would be a financial hit for the non-profit.

“It takes funds away from us helping veterans in need,” he noted.

We shared the VFW Post’s photo and description of the stolen trailer with the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office, which is now asking for the public’s help in finding it.

“If anybody in the area happened to see something suspicious or a vehicle parked behind the VFW sometime prior to when the trailer was stolen those witness accounts are very important,” said Casey Roebuck, the Communications Director for the Tulsa County Sheriff Department.

We asked Glen if he thinks he’ll get it back to which he replied, “I don’t really see that happening, like I said it looks like everybody else’s trailer.”

There is one thing that sets the VFW post’s trailer apart from the others, however. Glen said in the back there’s a 1x1 square foot of white plywood on the right side that was added when they lent the trailer to the Girl Scouts for a Christmas parade last year.

We asked Glen how it felt to have something that so many depend on stolen from their property:

“It hurt,” he explained, “I’m one of those people who look for the best in people and I’ve taken a hit on that.”

Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone with information on the theft of the VFW Post’s trailer last week to reach out to their office.

If they’re not able to get it returned, a member of the VFW Post has offered to lend them a trailer so they can decorate their float for the upcoming 4th of July parade in Skiatook, something that’s important to them as an active member of the community.

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