HONOLULU (AP) — The family of a Hawaii National Guard soldier who died in Afghanistan is pleading for help to get back military medals that were stolen in a burglary. ADVERTISING HONOLULU (AP) — The family of a Hawaii National
HONOLULU (AP) — The family of a Hawaii National Guard soldier who died in Afghanistan is pleading for help to get back military medals that were stolen in a burglary.
Sgt. Drew Scobie was 25 when he was killed in a surveillance aircraft.
The burglar stole a Bronze Star, a Hawaii Medal of Valor and a military ribbon.
“Those are very special to us,” said Scobie’s mother, Karen Tao. “Those are memories that we have of him because he lost his life earning them.”
Tao says she felt violated.
“Knowing that someone would take something that’s so personal like that, it’s heartbreaking to me,” Tao said.
The burglar also stole jewelry, a computer and a camera with photos of the soldier’s funeral and his daughter’s birth.
But all the family wants is the return of the medals and certificates.
Scobie, another soldier and a civilian were killed in January when their MC-12 surveillance aircraft crashed during a night mission. It was Scobie’s first deployment, and his wife was pregnant with their daughter when he was killed.
Within the last month, Tao had set up a display atop a living-room cabinet with photos of Scobie. The medals were tucked inside one of the cabinet drawers because Tao had yet to add the medals to the display.
The stolen medals can be dropped off at any National Guard facility on Oahu, and no questions will be asked, said Lt. Col. Chuck Anthony of the Hawaii National Guard.
