PORTLAND (NewsNation Now) — When the Riverside Fire erupted, thousands of people in Oregon prepared to evacuate including 90-year-old Robert Pouriea.
Pourieau packed his valuables into his vehicle and waited. He didn’t end up having to evacuate but thieves broke into his vehicle and stole everything inside while the car was parked in his apartment parking lot.
“Everything I wanted to leave to my children is gone,” Pouriea told NewsNation affiliate KOIN. “I was just devastated at the fact that I have nothing left. I’m done, I’m not going to live long, I have nothing to leave my children of value.”
Pouriea said his coin collection included an Australian 50-cent piece he obtained while visiting Australia in the 1950s and a $10 gold piece passed down from his father.
“My grandmother took it out of circulation when they closed the gold standards,” he said. “It went to my father; my father gave it to me; I wanted to give it to my children.”
Pouriea spent 20 years in the U.S. Navy and served in the Korean and Vietnam wars. He and his late wife, Ruth, put down roots in Oregon and raised their two daughters.
Among the stolen jewelry pieces was a Black Hills Gold ring his father gave him when he was 25. But perhaps the biggest loss: his and his late wife’s wedding rings.
“We were married for 52 years,” said Pouriea. “It hurts. It hurts.”
NewsNation affiliate KOIN contributed to this report.
