Mom devastated after burglars steal son's combat medals
Cindy Hardegree's family received a Gold Star from the Department of Defense after her son, Sgt. Mike Hardegree, died in Iraq.
She had it made into a locket, but she doesn't have it now.
The Gold Star, along with the medals and badges her son earned, were among the items stolen Wednesday during a burglary of her Villa Rica home, Channel 2 Action News reported.
Carroll County deputies have been checking pawn shops and jewelry stores.
The burglars took $10,000 worth of items, including a television, electronics and even the iPod containing Mike Hardegree's favorite songs, which a soldier returned to his mother after his death, the report said.
Mike Hardegree was among seven soldiers killed when their vehicle flipped over in Iraq on Sept. 10, 2007, Channel 2 said.
Hardegree liked to duplicate his medals and badges and give them to his mother when he returned from combat, the report said.
"The next time he was home, he would give it to me and say, ‘Mom, you earned this, too, 'cause you supported me and prayed for me, and I want you to have one, too," she told Channel 2.
Cindy Hardegree wants the burglars to return her son's things.
“Put it in my mail box, my front porch. I don’t care. Just please give those things back,” she told Channel 2.
The loss of the Gold Star-turned-locket hurts the most, she said.
“It was like losing him again," she told Channel 2. "It was that last little piece of him.”
About the Author
Angel K. Brooks is a senior manager for the programming team, focusing on quality control. She has been with the AJC since 2007 and started as a sports copy editor. She is a graduate of Florida A&M University.
