Missing for a month, vet’s cap returned
A cap cherished by a local veteran is no longer AWOL.
Steve Tertuliani, of Bieber Road in Northwood, was driving along Curtice Road about a month ago when he decided to open the sun roof of his car and a brisk wind sent his cap out the roof.
“It was blowing like crazy that day and it just took off,” he said.
The cap has a great deal of sentimental value to the 91-year-old Tertuliani. It marks his service during the Korean War and has a pin attached to it that designates his completion of parachute jump school training as a member of the Army 11th Airborne Division.
He went door-to-door in his neighborhood, asking if anyone had found it along the road but to no avail.
He placed a lost and found notice in The Press with a request it be turned over to the Northwood Police Department if found.
Last Tuesday, there was a knock on Tertuliani’s door about 8 p.m. and a police officer was standing there with a cap, asking the veteran if it was his.
The wayward cap was back with its owner.
“I was so glad to get it back. It’s meant a lot to me,” Tertuliani said.
His wife, Judy, said she noticed a change in her husband’s demeanor while the cap was missing.
“He was upset,” she said. “This shows there are still so many good people out there.”
Since its return, Tertuliani has inserted a slip of paper with his name, address and phone number inside the cap.