Find this coward who wouldn't be able to look a veteran in the eye

To The Daily Sun,

I have heard it said that for our veterans their grave is the site of their final deployment. Our veterans are remembered on Memorial Day by placing American flags on their graves. The flags fly strongly with the wind throughout our cemeteries until Veteran’s Day, November 11.

The flag holders consist of a threaded rod, perhaps 3/8” round and 16 inches long, to hold the service medallion for the flag to stand tall over the grave to honor men, some who at 17, 19 or 20 years of age, fought in the Battle of the Bulge, fought in Vietnam, fought in the Argonne Forest and even died at Antietam.

Recently, in Sandwich, thieves, with no courage to do what our veterans did for our country, went through one of our cemeteries where no fight was to be found; no questions asked and, obviously, no shame expressed and cowardly unscrewed the rod from the flag medallion, dropping it in the grass, and walking away with the rod. A quick survey counted 19 medallions laying at the base of their gravestones.

The New Hampshire Criminal Code, RSA 635 states: “No person… shall… purposely or knowingly destroy, mutilate, injure or remove any tomb, monument, gravestone, marker or other structure or any fragment thereof placed or designed for a memorial of the dead…” also it is unlawful to possess or sell gravestones or gravestone items “… including… markers… or any portion or fragment thereof placed for a memorial of the dead.”

“Any person who is convicted of an offense under RSA 635:6 or 635:7 shall be guilty of a Class B felony and shall be ordered by the court to make restitution for damage resulting from the offense and for replacement of removed items.”

If the coward and the veteran could stand on this earth again, face-to-face, the thief would not be man enough to look the old veteran in the eye and explain himself. To steal from any grave or cemetery is never an innocent mistake. It should always be a crime. The thief must be found and punished. Thank you!

Geoffrey Burrows

Center Sandwich,