There’s a lot going right in retired Army Sgt. Kendra Lou Pieper’s life.
She’s engaged, with a wedding date in April 2022. She recently started a construction business with her fiancé, and she says they’ve been incredibly busy. Pieper feels very blessed, she said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. But on Monday, life threw her a major curveball.
Pieper realized she left her one-of-a-kind walking cane at a gas station after stopping to fill up.
She was injured in combat while deployed in Afghanistan in 2010, losing her left leg from above the knee to an improvised explosive device embedded in the wall of a building. Now, she uses a sturdy cane to aid her mobility. But her cane is unique, with her service record literally embedded into its surface.
The wooden cane is adorned not just with Pieper’s name and rank, but several of the medals she earned for her service – including her Purple Heart, combat action badge and crossed pistols insignia. It even has an eagle’s head for a handle.
Pieper said she was on her way home Monday and stopped for gas at a Newton County Exxon, leaning her cane against the gas pump after getting out. Then she saw an acquaintance and the two talked for a few minutes.
“I said ‘hey’ to them, and I got in my truck, and I left,” Pieper said. “Within 30 minutes of leaving, I realized that I had left my cane there.”
Pieper’s fiancé returned to the gas station soon after, but couldn’t find the cane. He asked the owner to review the station’s security footage, which showed someone in a white SUV picking up the cane and leaving with it.
Unsure of where to turn next, Pieper posted the story on Facebook so her friends could keep an eye out for the cane. When she woke up the next day, she found her post had been shared tens of thousands of times. By the following Monday, her post had racked up nearly 650,000 shares.
Though the cane has not been returned, Pieper’s post has resulted in action. The Newton County Sheriff’s Office contacted her and has opened an investigation into the loss of the cane. The investigation will allow the sheriff’s office to access more potential sources of evidence, Pieper said, including additional security footage and credit card records from the gas station.
Pieper said she felt overwhelmed by the support she’s received.
“Everybody understood that it wasn’t worth money, you can’t sell it,” Pieper said. “But you know, the meaning that’s carried behind it — everybody seemed to understand that it told my story without me having to say anything.”
The veteran has continued to share her story in the hopes someone will recognize the cane and get it back to her. As she continues the search, though, she’s buoyed by the support she’s received from people across the country.
“I just really want to tell everyone, ‘thank you,’” Pieper said. “It’s been so amazing to see how many people truly care. And how patriotic America still is. So, I definitely want to tell the people, ‘thank you for caring.’”
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