Family desperate to find stolen army veteran funeral flag in Baltimore
By Amy Kawata
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BALTIMORE (WJZ) — A desperate plea to find a family’s stolen army veteran funeral flag.
“Words can’t even describe the pain I’m feeling right now,” said Jessika Rosado Bittner, Father’s Army Veteran funeral flag stolen. “I’m doing everything possible to get it back.”
“I’m heartbroken. He was a great man. A military man. A man of great honor and a man of pride,” said Ricardo Bittner, husband of Jessika Rosado Bittner.
Jessika Rosado Bittner said she came out to her car Sunday morning on the 1100 block of S. Ellwood Avenue in Canton by the Enoch Pratt Library to find out it was broken into sometime over the weekend.
“My back door was ajar on the passenger side. And then I started noticing things weren’t there, so I started opening the next door and then the trunk and then my kids, all her stuff wasn’t in there,” said Bittner. “I had diapers for the next week, for supplies for our care provider, wipes, her day bag.”
That’s when she realized her father’s army veteran funeral flag was also missing.
“It just broke me. That’s the one thing that just, everything else is replaceable,” said Bittner “He passed in 2019. I loved him very, very much and I miss him every day”
“That’s a piece of him that is now gone,” said Ricardo Bittner.
A United States Marine Corps Veteran herself, Sgt. Rosado said the flag means everything to her and her family. “It was at his funeral, my mom had to hold it. Her tears went into that flag,” said Bittner.
“We planned to get it framed with all of his medals and this is something we want to pass down,” said Ricardo Bittner.
She said she’ll do whatever it takes to get it back.
“Just bring it home, I know my dad’s not the flag, but that means something to me, that means honor, pride, the commitment, the blood and sweat that he endured. And I want it back, please give it back,” said Bittner.
Bittner says she has already filed a police report and is now asking if anyone has any information or security cameras in the area that could help find whoever is responsible.
“I’ve thought about reaching out to the Enoch Library since maybe that’s a neutral ground and they can leave it there,” said Bittner.
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