THIS IS NEW TONIGHT. AN AMERICAN FLAG STOLEN FROM THE HOME OF A VIETNAM VETERAN AND PURPLE HEART RECIPIENT RIGHT HERE IN SACRAMENTO. THE THEFT LEAVING HIM AND HIS FAMILY IN DISBELIEF. KCRA 3’S DENSON CORTEZ SHARES THEIR SEARCH FOR ANSWERS. THEY SHIPPED ME BACK TO GERMANY, BUT THEY SENT ME TO MANNHEIM THIS TIME. JAMES WHITE HAS SEEN A THING OR TWO IN HIS 85 YEARS OF LIFE. SURGERY HERE, SURGERY THERE. ON MY LEGS. AND FROM THERE THEY SENT ME TO TO VIETNAM. HE’S A VIETNAM VETERAN AND PURPLE HEART RECIPIENT, SERVED IN THE ARMY FOR MORE THAN TWO DECADES. I’LL TELL YOU ONE THING. YOU WOULDN’T YOU WOULDN’T WANT TO BE THERE. MAINLY BECAUSE IF YOU GO IN THE FOREST WHERE WE WENT IN THE FOREST, YOU SEE SNAKES WITH HEADS THAT BIG ON THEM. BUT IT’S WHAT HE SAW ON HIS HOME CAMERA THAT LEFT A MAN WHO’S FACED DEATH IN DISBELIEF. SO WHY SHOULD YOU HAVE TO STEAL IT FOR SOMETHING LIKE THAT? IT JUST DON’T MAKE SENSE. VIDEO SHOWS SOMEONE WALKING RIGHT UP TO WHITE’S HOUSE, REACHING UP AND GRABBING HIS AMERICAN FLAG, THEN JOGGING OFF. THAT HURT ME. THAT SOMEBODY WOULD DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT OR STEAL A FLAG. BUT STILL FLAG A FLAG HE SERVED TO DEFEND AS A TANKER FOR THE FOURTH OF THE 68TH ARMOR IN GERMANY, AND FIGHTING IN VIETNAM, WITH OTHER STOPS IN BETWEEN. IT’S JUST SORT OF A VIOLATION FOR HIM, YOU KNOW, SERVING HIS COUNTRY AND TRYING TO DO THE RIGHT THING AND TO HAVE SOMEONE COME ONTO HIS PROPERTY AND TAKE THAT FLAG. IT REALLY HURT HIM. WHEN I HAD TO SHOW HIM THE VIDEO, YOU KNOW, THE NEXT MORNING I FOUGHT FOR THAT FLAG. I MEAN, THAT FLAG WAS THERE BEFORE I FOUGHT, BUT I MEAN, I FOUGHT FOR THAT FLAG. IT’S AN AMERICAN FLAG. IT’S FOR THE UNITED STATES, FOR EVERYBODY. WHITE SAYS THE THEFT HIT HARD, BUT IT’S THE MEANING BEHIND THE STARS AND STRIPES THAT HIT MUCH MORE. HE’S GOT HIS SHARE OF HEALTH CHALLENGES. HE’S BATTLING STAGE FOUR PROSTATE CANCER AND CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE. THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHO THAT FLAG BELONGED TO OR THE STORY BEHIND THE MAN THAT THAT FLAG BELONGED TO. YOU KNOW, AND IT’S JUST NOT RIGHT. IN SACRAMENTO, DENSON CORTEZ KCRA THREE NEWS. HE SAYS HE FOUGHT FOR THAT FLAG, AND HIS FAMILY DID FILE A POLICE REPORT FOR THE THEFT. AND HE HOPES THIS SERVES AS A REMINDER THA
Purple Heart veteran’s flag stolen in Natomas theft: ‘It’s just not right’
Family speaks out after flag taken from Sacramento veteran
Updated: 8:52 AM PST Jan 25, 2026
An 85-year-old Vietnam veteran is shaken after someone stole an American flag from his Natomas front yard. James White, a Purple Heart recipient who served more than two decades in the Army, has faced some of life’s toughest challenges, including stage 4 prostate cancer and chronic kidney disease, but says the theft still hit him hard.White’s daughter, Daisy Hernandez, said her father has already endured enough, and the theft was especially painful because the person who took the flag had no idea whose story they were taking.“They have no idea who that flag belonged to or the story behind the man it belonged to. It’s just not right,” she told KCRA.The theft was caught on White’s home camera, showing someone walking up to the house, grabbing the flag, and jogging away. White called the video “heartbreaking,” noting the flag symbolizes not just the United States, but decades of service and sacrifice.White served as a tanker in the Fourth of the 68th Armor in Germany in addition to fighting in Vietnam. After retiring from the military, he spent 21 years with the U.S. Postal Service, always emphasizing service and helping others.The family has filed a police report, hoping the incident serves as a reminder to respect the personal and historical meaning behind such symbols.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
An 85-year-old Vietnam veteran is shaken after someone stole an American flag from his Natomas front yard.
James White, a Purple Heart recipient who served more than two decades in the Army, has faced some of life’s toughest challenges, including stage 4 prostate cancer and chronic kidney disease, but says the theft still hit him hard.
White’s daughter, Daisy Hernandez, said her father has already endured enough, and the theft was especially painful because the person who took the flag had no idea whose story they were taking.
“They have no idea who that flag belonged to or the story behind the man it belonged to. It’s just not right,” she told KCRA.
The theft was caught on White’s home camera, showing someone walking up to the house, grabbing the flag, and jogging away. White called the video “heartbreaking,” noting the flag symbolizes not just the United States, but decades of service and sacrifice.
White served as a tanker in the Fourth of the 68th Armor in Germany in addition to fighting in Vietnam. After retiring from the military, he spent 21 years with the U.S. Postal Service, always emphasizing service and helping others.
The family has filed a police report, hoping the incident serves as a reminder to respect the personal and historical meaning behind such symbols.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel