Thieves caught on camera stealing World War II artifacts
BROOMFIELD, Colo. (KDVR) — You have heard the stories many times now: trailers full of Boy Scout camping gear, property belonging to a nonprofit, or maybe a little league baseball team, stolen by brazen thieves.
It happened again two weeks ago in a residential neighborhood in Englewood. But this time, the stolen trailer was full of irreplaceable World War II 10th Mountain Division artifacts.
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A neighbor’s doorbell camera recorded the all-too-familiar scene: thieves in the early morning stealing a cargo trailer.
Dave Little’s blood pressure rises every time he watches the tape. Little is the founder of the 10th Mountain Division Living History Display Group.
“We provide museum-quality exhibits in outdoor settings. We do it for public venues. We do it for other museums. We do it for the Army, U.S. Forest Service, anybody who is looking for information about the 10th Mountain Division,” Little said.
The all-white cargo trailer was stolen from a member of the history group’s house. He was going to do repairs on some gear stored in the trailer.
Thieves, however, had other plans.
“What we lost were our tents. Our large macro artifacts. We have a major camouflage net that went in there, and one of the big pieces is our field kitchen,” Little said.
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The suspect vehicle looks like a 2015 full-size extended cab pickup truck made by Chevrolet or GMC. The vehicle appears to be dark in color.
Trailers are replaceable, but World War II history is not. What is old and musty surplus camping gear to the bad guys is, in reality, artifacts used by the famous 10th Mountain Division.
Black market value? Nil. Historic value? Priceless.
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