'Heart Of The Community' Stolen: Search On For 73-Year-Old Veterans Memorial Taken From South St. Paul Cemetery
Originally published March 19, 2022
SOUTH ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) – The search is on for a missing Veteran's Memorial Marker allegedly stolen from Oak Hill Cemetery in South St. Paul.
Installed in 1949, the plaque has served as a symbol of service displayed by the over 400 veterans buried there.
"It's just been a real source of pride to have names that are central to South St. Paul, said Lauri Flatley, who has led a volunteer effort to restore grave markers at the cemetery over the last two years.
"There is so much pride in this community for what we did. To see in that instant, this key part has been there since the beginning is gone for no reason that we can understand, it didn't make any sense," she said.
"It hurt," said Iraq War Veteran and VFW Post 295 Commander Terry Pieper. "It's that sentimental value. It's what it represented. You get a chance to walk through here and see these headstones. World War I, World War II, Korea, then they've got their spouses beside them too. They all sacrificed."
VETERANS MEMORIAL STOLEN: This marker, installed at Oak Hill Cemetery in South St Paul in 1949, is meant to commemorate the lives of the 400+ veterans and their families buried there.
— Adam Duxter (@AdamDuxter) March 19, 2022
This week, volunteers say it was stolen.
What'd they'd do to get it back, tonight on @WCCO. pic.twitter.com/4xrAxgejea
Pieper and Flately say they first noticed the brass marker, which is nearly three feet long and two feet wide, was missing earlier this week. They have filed a report with South St. Paul Police, but say so far, they've had no luck. The two say if the marker was stolen, it was likely for scrap metal.
"It's scrap to you, it probably doesn't mean anything to you," Pieper said. "It's a couple of bucks. To us, it's more than that."
"What they have is the heart of this community," Flatley said. "This is something that reminds all of us and ties us and anchors us to a generation of heroes, of servicemen and women who've given everything they had for the betterment of all of us."
Flatley and Pieper say anyone with information on the marker's whereabouts should call South St. Paul Police at 651-554-3300, or contact VFW Post 295 at 651-455-1505.
"If you've heard anything, seen anything, give it back. That's all we want, is for it to be back where it rightfully belongs," Flatley said.