An 81-year-old veteran from LaGrange Highlands was robbed of his wallet at a fast food restaurant near Hines Veterans Hospital in Maywood Wednesday.
Martin Stulp said he and a couple friends had just finished eating about 8:45 a.m. at the McDonald’s at 507 W. Roosevelt Road when the crime occurred.
“A person came over and pushed me over and I thought ‘What is this person doing?'” said Stulp. “Then he ripped my wallet out of my pocket.”
Stulp said he was knocked over in his seat.
“He pushed me to where I was at a 45 degree angle. I felt a tremedous pulling on my trousers. The next thing I see is my wallet is gone and he’s running out the door,” he said.
Stulp said he tried to give chase.
“I tried to go after him. But I don’t walk too well. Other people did.”
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Stulp said the man ran down a gangway nearby.
Sgt. Daryl Farrely of the Maywood Police Department confirmed the details of the robbery.
“No one has been arrested. It’s under investigation,” he said.
Stulp said he was not injured in the robbery, but $200 in cash, credit cards and checks were taken.
“I’ve been canceling all my credit cards. There are so many things that you figure out later were in your wallet,” he said.
Stulp, who served as a military policeman in the U.S. Army from 1954 to 1956, said he was having breakfast before going to see a friend whom he visits several times a week at the hospital.
“I go to see my best friend, a man who was shot in Korea,” he said. “He’s paralyzed on his left side and he’s basically permanently in the hospital.”
He said he and his friend are so close that they used to be called Mutt and Jeff.
“I’ve known him since I was 3 years old,” Stulp said.
Stulp formerly was a classroom teacher, past principal of a Woodridge elementary school and former assistant principal of Jefferson Middle School, both in Woodridge Elementary District 68.
Though he may never recover his belongings, Stulp said he hopes the offender is caught.
“This was a strong arm robbery. This is something we cannot have,” he said.
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