Military families make endless sacrifices to serve our country. It isn't just the men and women who are enlisted. It's also their families, who swallow the sadness of missed birthdays and holidays for the greater good.
It's for that reason that it's so horrific when a military family has to go through heartache. One Air Force family is feeling that heartache right now. Ben and Kassandra Benton packed up their home and two daughters for a move to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.
The family decided to stop for an overnight break in the midst of the drive. When they awoke the next morning, the U-Haul with all their possessions was gone. While it was a lot for the family to lose, the everyday material things weren't what panicked them.
In the moving truck were also all the mementos they had of their 6-month son, whom they lost to a brain infection. That included the baby boy's ashes, which they are asking for the public's help in recovering.
An Air Force family is heartbroken after they were targeted by thieves. Ben and Kassandra Benton packed up their two daughters, Charlotte and Amelia, in a move to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. The family decided to stop for the night at a La Quinta Inn in Covington, Georgia.
While the Bentons were getting some rest, thieves noticed the U-Haul parked in the parking lot of the hotel. They broke into the U-Haul and stole it, along with everything the Bentons owned. It was a crushing blow to the family for a number of reasons.
"I went outside around 7 or 8 that morning and was on the phone with one of my good buddies," Ben told Today.
"I looked up and was like 'the U-Haul – where is it? Oh my god, the U-Haul is gone.'"
Ben also wrote about the experience in a Facebook post.
"I've been through more horrific things than most people can imagine. I've literally walked through hell with the devil whispering in my ear and God in the other. My family has always been my number one priority and always will be. We had every single thing we own striped from us in minutes, the life I tried to provide my family is gone," he wrote.
"As a father it's the worst feeling in the world. I've felt so numb to it all until now it hit me like a train this morning. We stopped for the night during our move to my next duty station in Covington, GA and that night our uhaul with every single thing we own was In there. Sit back as you read this and think about all of the things in your home even down to the little things you take for granted that's us."
The most devastating things for the family to lose were the keepsakes from their infant son, Wyatt, who died at 6 months old. Kassandra had been told she couldn't have children because of radiation and chemotherapy for cancer treatment. She discovered she was pregnant with Wyatt at 14 weeks in 2015.
"I went to the hospital not feeling well and found out I was pregnant. It was crazy," she shared.
"I ended up having him early at 24 weeks at home. My husband delivered him. I ended up hemorrhaging and he wasn’t breathing on his own. He fought for his life in the NICU for five months until he got a brain infection. We ended up taking him to hospice where he passed away."
Wyatt's ashes were in the U-Haul van. The family was hopeful that the thieves would recognize the significance of the urn and bring him back to his family. They filed a police report, but officers who reviewed hotel security footage said these thieves were pros.
"It didn't hit me that our stuff was gone, it hit me that our son's ashes were in there," Kassandra said.
"That was the first thing I realized — Wyatt was gone."
"His handprints that we had were in there, his footprints. We had a molding of his hand," Kassandra said mournfully.
"We had just everything you could get from a baby that you’re losing to have memories of him that you can keep. It was all in there."
Thursday morning, police discovered the abandoned U-Haul, but there wasn't much left in it.
"They went through everything and what they didn't want," Kassandra said.
"When I say 'what they didn't want,' — it was a couple black bags with clothes in them."
Police have released the surveillance footage, hoping someone will recognize the person who did this. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Covington Police Department at 770-385-2122.
Friends and family have come together to launch a GoFundMe page for the family to help with what they can replace while they continue to plead for the return of Wyatt. So far, nearly $5,000 has been collected to help the family.
"I'm mourning as if I just lost him," Kassandra said.
"I just beg whoever took him to have a heart. Imagine it being their own kid or family member that they love and think about how they would feel. Please just return him. We don't even care if they drop him somewhere that someone would recognize and let us have him back. It feels like we are losing him all over again."
