War memorial plaza vandalized in Fayette County

UNIONTOWN, Pa. — Someone vandalized a war memorial in Fayette County.

Police are sifting through surveillance video to figure out who is responsible for vandalizing the George C. Marshall Plaza in Uniontown.

“There’s 19 flags here that have been taken down and most of the ropes were cut; some can be reused but you can see the ropes have been damaged and all the flags have been damaged,” said Mayor Bill Gerke.

The flags, which were taken some time last week, represent the 19 allied nations of World War II and had been flying at the plaza since 2003. Two flags were untouched - the American flag and POW flag.

“I would like to think the people that did this don’t really know what these flags stand for. I’d like to believe it’s a prank, something along those lines,” said Brian Bensen, director of Fayette County Veterans Affairs.

All 19 flags were found about a quarter-mile from the plaza, most of them damaged or torn.

“The cost is $1,900 to replace those so we’re going to have to replace them a little earlier but the community has come back and reached out to us,” said Gerke.

The city of Uniontown is in the process of setting up a flag fund for donations to put toward the cost of replacing the flags.