The 10th Mountain Division Living History Group says their trailer was stolen in Englewood on April 13. It was filled with tens of thousands of dollars worth of authentic World War II artifacts and memorabilia that the group uses to preserve and share the story of the military skiers and mountaineers who trained in Colorado during World War II.
They feared the priceless items were gone forever, but this week they had good news to share: Police had found the trailer containing about half of the stolen items.
On Saturday, the 10th Mountain Division Living History Group unloaded the recovered items in Littleton, taking inventory of the treasures considered lost.
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“There were four left of the 50 we had, so someone took the other 45,” David Little, president of the 10th Mountain Division Living History Group, said of a set of grenade launcher sights.
“It took us over 40 years to get all this stuff together, and overnight some thieves thought it was a great idea to steal our trailer. ” said Michael Voelkelt, member of the 10th Mountain Division Living History Group.
After weeks of waiting, Little got the call he had been praying for.
“The Englewood Police recovered the trailer for us and recovered about half of the contents. Fortunately, some of the things that will be difficult to replace were recovered. Our tents, our camouflage nets, that kind of thing, but there’s a lot of accessory equipment that it was in the trailer that is now gone forever, we think,” Little said.
The group still lacks many irreplaceable artifacts.
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“Original army tables and chairs, we lost our field kitchen, we lost our stove, we lost several pairs of military skis,” Little said.
As for the culprits? No arrests have been made yet. Englewood police are still investigating and cannot say how the items were found.
But Little says a viewer’s watchful eye played a key role. He expects more items to be spotted.
“Keep an eye out for these things that show up at a local garage sale or online, or if someone sells them locally,” Little said.
The group is also asking for donations of authentic WWII items. The money the group raised through an online fundraiser will be used to try to replace lost items and improve the group’s safety.
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“Replacements are something we look for and these are original World War II artifacts, so they’re not going to be things we can just casually go out and buy at the local surplus store,” Little said.
Little says what was recovered is enough for the group to continue their mission.
“We’re here to keep the history of the 10th Mountain Division alive,” Voelkelt said.
The group has plans to hold a Memorial Day event in Leadville with a former commanding general of the 10th Mountain Division.
