HANOVER TOWNSHIP – Workers say more than three dozen bronze flag holders were stolen from Maple Hill Cemetery near Wilkes-Barre.
Marinda Seiwell told Newswatch 16 that relatives discovered that the metal tribute to service members were missing from grave sites in a remote area of the cemetery.
"The people are upset. That signifies that their father, their husband, their grandfather, or sometimes the great-great grandfather, their time in the war and the service, fighting for the country. That`s important to them,” said Seiwell.
After cleaning around the headstone of her father’s grave, Karen Fenstermacher of Berwick said her father’s Korean War wasn’t stolen, but she was disgusted to hear that others were.
"Karma will bounce back on you. You steal from a grave? That`s bad karma," said Fenstermacher.
Officials at the Veterans Affairs office in Wilkes-Barre said new and replacement flag holders are made of aluminum, because bronze is expensive and a popular target for thieves.