WASHINGTON, D.C. (WOFL FOX 35, Orlando) - Army Col. Norbert Schmidt served his country. Now, someone has done him an extraordinary disservice.

Schmidt was a husband, father and grandfather. He was also a West Point alum who'd been wounded in the Korean War. Most of his buddies died in Korea. It may be one of the reasons he chose to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

"He lived, they died in Korea. A lot of it had to do with that. To be with the people he sort of felt he should have died with because they all died around him," said Schmidt's daughter, Carol.

So the family came to Washington- all 22 of them-- including children, grandchildren and his widow, Donna. After a meeting at Arlington on Thursday, they decided to take the kids to the National Museum of the American Indian.

They parked their rented van nearby. Afterwards, they noticed the GPS device was missing. It turned out a lock had been broken and the brass urn holding the ashes, the death certificate and Schmidt's Army discharge papers were all missing.

"Today's my dad's birthday, what would have been his 84th birthday and umm (pause) and that's part of the reason why we chose this weekend and went ahead with it because with veterans day and my dad's birthday," Schmidt said.

The family searched the National Mall-- even the garbage cans. Their frantic search turned up nothing. The burial was just a day away, but Carol Schmidt's biggest concern was her mom. "She had a stroke right after my dad died. I was really worried that she was going to have a heart attack," said Carol Schmidt.

Family members say they have done a lot of mourning since Norbert's death in August. Now, they are heartbroken again.

"As my sister put it, it's like we just lost him all over again. It feels like he died yesterday again," said Carol Schmidt. What was supposed to be a burial service became a memorial service.

The Schmidt's still hope the urn will be returned-- back to a family that has lost so much. We're hoping with this that somebody says where did you get that bag and that they take the urn take it to a church or to a news station or to Arlington National Cemetery.