Home of WWII vet, 93, burglarized on Veterans Day

ASBURY PARK, N.J. — Jerry Cunningham set out on dangerous missions across the Pacific in World War II.

He manned the radio systems at Guantanamo Bay during the Cuban missile crisis when the United States was on the verge of a nuclear war.

On Tuesday, Cunningham should have been honored for protecting the freedoms of American citizens.

Instead, his home was burglarized.

The 93-year-old returned to his Monroe Avenue home on Veterans Day afternoon to find his basement window shattered and valuables missing from the house. Police said they are investigating the burglary and will be questioning neighbors, said Patrolman Michael Casey.

The thief got away with jewelry Cunningham had purchased for his wife, Sara, during the Battle of Okinawa, along with a safe containing personal documents. A 14-karat gold ring and a silver brooch passed down to Sara Cunningham from her older sister also were taken.

"I felt very sadly," Jerry Cunningham said from his front porch Thursday, as a small American flag hanging behind him fluttered in the wind. "I don't care for the neighborhood."

The couple's two-story house is located in the southwest quadrant of Asbury Park, where residents often deal with gangs, gunshots and drug dealing.

Sara Cunningham said she believes the thief targeted them because they are elderly.

"They were looking for money," said Sara Cunningham, 89. "They came in here because they thought we were old folks and we were stupid."

The burglary hasn't sat well with the couple's only son, Michael Cunningham, who lives in Albany, N.Y.

Michael Cunningham, 60, spoke highly of his father's valor in the U.S. Marine Corps, saying he was one of the last living WWII veterans.

He said it was disheartening that Jerry Cunningham's special day was ruined by a brazen burglary.

"He's a hero," said Michael Cunningham, a state government worker. "I thought it was rather ironic that a day when people should be celebrating (his service) they took the opportunity to break into his house and steal."

Michael Cunningham is now having a security company install an alarm system at his parents' house.

Sara Cunningham said the thief entered their house during the three-hour period she and her husband were out running errands.

The person broke through a small basement window and forced open a locked door leading to the first floor, she said. They then ransacked an upstairs bedroom closet where a safe was kept and stole the jewelry out of a wooden dresser.

Sara Cunningham said this wasn't the first time someone broke into their house. Earlier this year, a burglar got into the basement and stole a set of telephones, she said.

Cunningham said she believes her neighborhood is under siege by criminals. About two years ago, someone shot a bullet through the side of their house, she said.

Still, she said her faith in God has trumped all of her fears, including the terror of Tuesday's home invasion.

"I'm Baptist and I'm strong," Sara Cunningham said.