BURGLARS RANSACK VFW POST FUNDS FOR SEPT. 11 VICTIMS STOLEN.

Byline: Cecilia Chan Staff Writer

SIMI VALLEY - Veterans of Foreign Wars members planning to decide Tuesday where to send money raised for Sept. 11 victims instead found their post broken into and nearly $8,000 stolen.

Burglars caused about $7,000 in damage to VFW Post 10049 and took all the cash in a safe, including $2,000 raised for Sept. 11 victims.

The vets said the break-in was a blow to the nearly 250-member group, which struggles to stay open.

``I'm figuring out why anyone would rob a VFW,'' said Hank Calderon, a WWII veteran and past commander of the post. ``We're strapped poor. We don't have much money.''

Calderon discovered the burglary at 9:20 a.m. Monday when he arrived as usual to unlock the building's doors. A side door to the building was kicked in, hinges removed from a table safe, and coin boxes to video game machines and a juke box ripped open. The phone lines also were cut, impairing the security system. But 10 rifles, worth a few hundred dollars each, were left in a padlocked case.

``(The) place was heavily ransacked,'' said Simi Valley police Sgt. John McGinty.

Post members said security - not where to send the donations - now will be the topic of this week's meeting.

``Things are hard,'' said Mike Bera, a Vietnam veteran. ``We are going week to week, trying to survive.''

Calderon said this was the first time the post, at the location since 1982, had been burglarized. The group has insurance, but needs cash to stay afloat, he said.

``We are old guys,'' he said. ``I hope Simi Valley feels sympathy for its veterans.''

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Hank Calderon, a WWII veteran and past commander of VFW Post 10049, sits by the safe that was emptied by burglars. ``I'm figuring out why anyone would rob a VFW,'' Calderon said. ``We're strapped poor. We don't have much money.''

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer