Buy War Bonds, Don't Steal Them!

Two AWOL sailors, a 70 day crime spree, and both Andover Banks... all after V-E Day

Apr 12, 2023

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First, some Andover bank trivia. In 1945, the Andover National Bank was located at 23 Main Street, near the corner of Central Street. Bank of America is located there today. The Andover Savings Bank was located at Main and Chestnut Streets. T.D. Bank currently occupies that space.

Many people know of the war bond drive during World War II. Henry Morgenthau, then treasury secretary, started a national defense bond program even before the attack on Pearl Harbor. The United States was looking to increase its spending on national defense without causing inflation. Buying a bond is loaning money to the government and getting repaid with interest. It sounds a whole lot better than a compulsory savings program and/or a tax increase that John Maynard Keyes was proposing.

85 Million Americans Hold War Bonds. Souece: wikimedia commons

Members of our armed forces wouldn’t run around stealing war bonds, would they? Well, that’s exactly what happened.

Two teenage sailors, seaman first class Robert Gifun and seaman first class Robert Belleau went AWOL (Absent Without Leave) from the U.S. Navy training station in Newport, Rhode Island. They embarked on a 70-day crime spree that netted them an estimated $10,000 in cash and war bonds. Belleau and Gifun’s crime spree ended here in Andover on June 11, 1945.

It all started when the two sailors walked into the Andover National Bank and tried to cash in $200.00 worth of war bonds. Frederick W. Gould, a bank employee, noticed that the serial numbers on the bonds appeared on a distribution list of bonds reported missing or stolen. He called the Andover police.

An undated photo of the Andover National Bank. From the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System

Officer John Deyermond, on duty in “the square” received the call. He drove toward the bank, noticed the sailors running up Park Street, and gave chase. Deyermond pursued them along Florence Street and then up Elm Street. When he pulled alongside the sailors and ordered them to “come here,” the sailors ran away. I am not shocked. Deyermond radioed for help.

Police Chief Dane ordered Officer Frank McBride to report for duty. McBride was still working the night shift. I remember him from an earlier story in 1938. McBride, in turn, calls Officer James R. Lynch. Lynch joined the search, wearing his civilian clothes and driving his own car. Maybe the police force had a quick strategy conference after Deyermond's failed apprehension.

Lynch drives up to North Andover and returns via Elm and Whittier Street. He spots Gifun and Belleau on Chestnut Street, pulls over, and asks them if they need a ride. The term he uses is “going down.” Belleau and Gifun accept.

The chase was not over yet. Lynch stops at a package store on Barnard Street, telling the sailors that he wanted something to drink. He was really going to talk to headquarters. Gifun and Belleau, sensing trouble, make a run for it.

The Boston Daily Globe, in a “special dispatch” dated June 12, tells it a bit differently than the Andover Townsman. According to the Globe, Lynch drove straight to the police station and the sailors made a break for it in the parking lot. The headline claims that Belleau and Gifun accepted a ride in a “police car” while the article notes that Lynch was in plain clothes. If Lynch was in plain clothes, driving a marked cruiser, the sailors would be unlikely to surrender. I guess the Globe expanded the definition of “police car” to include automobiles owned by police officers.

Anyway, the two sailors flee Lynch's car and head in different directions. The Townsman does not specify which Robert went where. The Globe, however, chronicles Belleau’s solo escape through town. Gifun did not get far. Lynch quickly caught up to him and delivered him to the fire department for (temporary) safekeeping.

Reaching Main Street, Belleau ducks into Elander & Swanton, the clothing store. He tells the salesman that he stole a sailor's uniform from his brother and needs to return it. Belleau exits Elander & Swanton in a new suit and leaves his “brother's” uniform at Miller's shoe store. Maybe he said he stole his brother's shoes, too. Belleau drives off in the car that he and Gifun had rented. Two war vets were watching him and notified Officers Deyermond and Campbell.

The two policemen force Belleau onto the curb at the junction of Main and School streets. Belleau flees, again. The Townsman said he disappeared onto Phillips Academy's property. Campbell deliberately fired a shot over his head as he was running away. Belleau was eventually apprehended after yet another search.

Phew!

Robert Gifun (left) and Robert Belleau (right). They look very contrite, don’t they? From The Boston Daily Globe, June 12, 1945.

Belleau and Gifun had fake identification cards on them, including one in the name of a rightful war bond holder whom they had robbed. One sailor admitted to forging his name on a driver's license that he had “found.” They had been able to cash a $150.00 bond at the Andover Savings Bank earlier in the day. If it wasn't for the Andover National Bank, when would this crime spree have ended?

Both sailors were listed on the crew of the USS Menkar in 1944. They were transferred off when the ship passed into the hands of the Coast Guard. Although they were both from this area, they were stationed aboard a ship in the canal zone. Remember that the Panama Canal was once United States territory. I don’t know what motivated their crime spree.

Researching this story was easy and puzzling at the same time. Belleau and Gifun wandered all over New England for two months committing larceny. Nor is Gifun a common last name. I found only two articles about their exploits. I even made sure that Newport papers from 1945 could be found in newspapers.com. I searched the Globe all the way up to 1950, thinking that something would turn up that talked about the sailors’ day in court. Nothing.

At least the banks in the area were keeping track of things.

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~Doug

Buy War Bonds, Don't Steal Them!

Two AWOL sailors, a 70 day crime spree, and both Andover Banks... all after V-E Day

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