Vandals target Wounded Veteran in Arizona

Chris Liby served two tours of duty in Iraq, and one more in Afghanistan. When a roadside bomb injured him and ended his time with the military, he settled down in Pima County, Arizona. The pride and joy of his civilian life nowadays? The big Ford truck in his driveway.  It was a gift from his wife and children and he even had a custom license plate that reminds him of his injury in the field that reads “DKT2L8” or “ducked too late”.

This past spring, vandals had defaced his prized truck though. They scratched the Ford logo, defaced the Purple Heart insignia on his truck, and even drained the oil out of it. “I started getting on the freeway and that’s when it just exploded,” said Liby. The diesel mechanics think they put regular fuel in the gas tank.” The truck needed a new engine, but troubles with it still continued afterwards. It has since become unable to drive.

Since then, Liby has struggled to come to terms with why vandals would target him this way. “It was heartbreaking. I couldn’t help but cry,” he said. “It was a gift from my wife and kids. I love this thing; I’ve wanted one since before I joined the military. And my heart sunk when it happened.” Vandals have even targeted his neighbor across the street, who is also a veteran.

Liby’s long time friend, Brian Kidd, has setup a crowdfunding account in hopes to help Liby get his transportation woes back on track. So far, it has gained $1400 of the proposed $7000 they’ve set as a goal.

“What’s the point in doing this?” said Liby. “There’s no good reason to do that to anybody. I fought for your right to free speech, but you could have said it a different way. If you’re going to send a message you could have left a note.”