A repentant thief , who stole the sword from a statue in Massachusetts, returned the object of the sculpture to the Historical Commission of the city and apologized.
Cindy P. Gaylord , President of the Historical Commission Westfield, reported that a man contacted Westfield City Council in December and asked to be connected to someone involved in the commission.
“His message was very cryptic,” Gaylord told The Springfield Republican . “He said he was in possession of something that belonged to Westfield and he wanted to return it.”
Gaylord agreed to meet the man in person, who then told him the story of how he was a student at Westfield State University in 1980 and ended up taking the bronze sword from the sculpture of General William Shepard , a hero of the American Revolutionary War.
The man admitted that the robbery was the product of drunkenness.
“He said he pulled the sword with such force that he fell back from the pedestal, sword in hand. The sword pierced his shirt near his stomach and dug into the ground. His friends had to pick him up, ”Gaylord said.
The man claimed that he and his sister recently rediscovered the sword while going through family belongings and decided to try to return it to the city.
“I felt a lot of shame and remorse,” Gaylord admitted. “He’s a veteran and he told me that I was doing this to another soldier worried him. He wants the story to serve to remind people that what you do in your youth could haunt you for the rest of your life. ”
The statue’s sword was replaced decades ago, but it is The original likely has a new home at a local museum, Gaylord explained.
The return of the sword was applauded by Cape Cod Daughters of the American Revolution.
“It’s sad that it was lost, but how wonderful that it has finally been returned,” the group said in a Facebook post.