This is the Signature of the Person Who Stole My Husband's History

This is the signature of the person who broke into our garage, stole my husband's bicycle, the only duffle bag of Army issue he had left, a painting my husband made in high school and left a note in Sharpie on our garage door thanking him for his service.

If you are unaware, my husband is an Operation Iraqi Freedom Army infantry veteran with a degenerative Traumatic Brain Injury. We live in Pierce County, Washington. Yesterday we returned home from picking our children up from school to find that someone had gone into our detached garage and stolen things that actually mean something to my husband.

He is often apathetic about life and especially material possessions. He has gotten rid of most of his army gear, only keeping what he wore in his first and second tours in Iraq. One of the uniforms he saved was a prototype - what later became ACUs (Army Combat Uniforms), the uniform the Army uses now. That uniform was an ACU in Desert Camo. It was only issued to my husband's unit. It was not issued to other units. It is rare, but probably not worth a lot of money. It means something to Karl though. It means he belonged to a special group at a special time. It is symbolic of him having been amazing. Now when he cannot remember why he is where he is or where he is going, it is proof that Karl was not just capable, but one of the best.

The other most important thing that was taken is a rainbow painting of Stevie Ray Vaughan. In high school Karl used a projector to trace a picture of Stevie Ray Vaughan onto a canvas. He then painted outside the outlines. I cannot accurately describe it, but the picture was gorgeous and people have offered to buy it from Karl numerous times. It is the only painting we had that Karl made in high school. It was not only gorgeous, but a reminder that Karl was an artist before he was a soldier. He is no longer a soldier, but he is still an artist and it is important for him to remember that despite all he has lost, there are pieces of himself still intact.

The thief then wrote a note on our garage door, thanking Karl for his service... and his possessions. The sheriff's department thinks it was a crime of opportunity and that unless they stumble upon the Stevie Ray Vaughan picture in a homeless camp, they are unlikely to retrieve the goods. I would appreciate it if you could pass this on. Maybe someone will recognize the signature and we can get my husband's Desert Camo ACUs and his Stevie Ray Vaughan picture back in time for Christmas. Most of the stuff was just stuff, but these things mean something.