CENTER TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Flag holders at veterans’ graves in a local cemetery have been reported stolen, and it’s apparently not the only time it’s happened in Beaver County.
“Rage. Emotions take over. It’s not a good thing,” said Brian Hostetter of South Beaver after hearing about the thefts at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Center Township.
Hostetter is a Marine veteran.
“That’s bad behavior,” he told Channel 11’s Andrew Havranek. “You can’t be like that. It’s not acceptable.”
The flag holders are provided for veterans’ graves by the Beaver County Department of Veterans Affairs and are placed before Memorial Day.
“Some of them are a little different, some have like an eagle, some are a regular flag holder. But they’re meant to commemorate veterans who have passed away,” Beaver County District Attorney Nate Bible said.
St Joseph’s isn’t the only cemetery where this has happened.
Bible said because the holders are made of brass or bronze, thieves sometimes take them to pawn shops and scrap yards to make a quick buck.
“We do notify the pawn shops and we do try to notify the scrap yards to let us know if they see, especially the ones with the eagles are very easily identified but if they see anybody bring it in, please take their information and contact either your local police department or my detective’s office,” Bible said.
Right now, Bible said there’s no information about who took the flag holders from St. Joseph’s Cemetery. But he said if police catch who’s responsible, they could face several charges.
“This is certainly the kind of offense that you’re not going to get public sympathy for,” he said. “There really won’t be deals coming from my office if we catch the person responsible for this.”
If your flag holder was stolen, or you have any information on suspects, call police.
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