Arrest over Derby war memorial plaques

August 7, 2010

UK--"The plaques contained the names of hundreds of railway workers who lost their lives in World War I.

The incident was reported to police on Wednesday morning and two plaques were recovered immediately and others were found later under a bush.

A 30-year-old man has been questioned by police and bailed pending further inquiries." original text

From the BBC, and by an unknown author.

Thieves steal bronze plaques from Derby war memorial

August 5, 2010

UK--"Thieves took the plaques, which contain the names of thousands of men who died in World War I, from a memorial close to Derby station.

It honours employees of the Midland Railway who enlisted and died in the war.

The memorial in Derby's Midland Road is Grade II-listed and was built in 1921..." read more

From the BBC, and by an unknown author.

War memorials deserve special protection

August 24, 2010

UK--"Few actions are calculated to cause greater offence than the desecration of a war memorial. The 'guard of dishonour' formed by Army veterans outside a courthouse for Wendy Lewis, who urinated on a memorial in Blackpool, was a fitting show of national disgust for her actions – such an exquisite humiliation that it should, one trusts, haunt the culprit for the rest of her life. Perhaps that is punishment enough. But should we go further and have a specific crime of defacing a war memorial that better reflects the strength of public revulsion and which carries a condign penalty?

David Burrowes, the Tory MP for Enfield Southgate, thinks we should. He has written to Cabinet ministers arguing that existing laws are insufficiently robust for this particular offence. If a war memorial is damaged, it receives no greater protection than any other edifice: the cost is assessed purely in financial terms, not for what the monument symbolises. Unless the bill for repairs exceeds £5,000, the maximum sentence that the magistrates court can hand down is three months in prison.

Mr Burrowes wants desecrating a war memorial to be a specific crime carrying a prison term of up to 10 years..." read more

From Telegraph.co.uk, and by Philip Johnston.

Coombe Hill Monument to be refurbished

July 29, 2010

UK--" Work has begun to bring a war memorial back to its former glory after the elements have taken their toll.
The monument at the top of Coombe Hill near Wendover remembers Buckinghamshire soldiers who fought in the South African Boer War from 1899 to 1902..." read more

From Bucks Free Press & Times Group, and by Rebecca Cain.

On-duty cop caught on video stealing from Pat's Cafe

July 29, 2010

Philadelphia, PA--"Pat's Cafe, a tiny corner bar in the Lower Northeast, is regarded as something of a sacred space by local residents and men and women in blue.

It is the place where Officer Gary Skerski, a beloved community-relations cop, lost his life when he interrupted an armed robbery on a warm spring night four years ago. An old wreath, a pair of decaying roses and a few small candles still mark the spot outside the bar, at Castor Avenue and Arrott Street, where Skerski was gunned down.

Imagine, then, how cops and locals felt yesterday when word spread that an on-duty police officer stole money from the bar's safe early Tuesday, law-enforcement sources said..." read more

From Philadelphia Daily News, and by David Gambacorta.

The spirit lives on: WWI memorial plaque rediscovered by HASD employee

July 25, 2010

Hazleton, PA--"In 1919, Hazleton was a growing city with department stores lining West Broad Street, blacksmiths on Green Street and a bottling company on West Hemlock Street..." read more

From Standard Speaker, and by Sam Galski.

Reward to catch yobs in war memorial outrage

July 27, 2010

Manchester U.K.--"A reward of £4,500 has been offered to catch thieves who stole two bronze plaques from a war memorial.

Yobs wrenched the metal plates from the Angel memorial in Boggart Hole Clough, Blackley, two weeks ago.

They were inscribed with the names of 215 soldiers who gave their lives in the First World War..." read more

From Manchester Evening News, and by Pete Bainbridge.

Bronze plaques stolen from schools

July 21, 2010

"Thieves have stolen seven bronze plaques, some worth thousands of dollars, from two La Cañada Unified schools during the last three weeks, according to Los Angeles County sheriffs..." read more

From La Cañada Valley Sun, and by Megan O'Neil.

Fury of WW1 hero's family over theft of memorial plaque bearing his name

July 20, 2010

"Pte Jim Ferrier, from north Manchester, was shot 10 times during an Allied surge on the Western Front in 1918 before he finally fell in battle aged 33.

His body was never brought home, and the memorial at Boggart Hole Clough stood as the only marker for his bravery before it was stolen.

Thieves chipped away at the sandstone monument and wrenched off two of the three bronze plaques..." read more

From the Manchester Evening News, and by Pete Bainbridge.

Plaque leads Brockton antique dealer on hunt for missing playground

"The man did not reveal his name. He simply walked into Campello Antiques in Brockton, handed a stained bronze plaque to owner Ron Bethoney and told him to do the right thing."

Click here to read story, from EnterpriseNews.com (Brockton, MA) 6/10/10

A neglected memorial

"It's time to remove Ottawa's saddest memorial to veterans of the Second World War, a modest bronze marker dedicated in 1995, on the fiftieth anniversary of victory, and steadily vandalized ever since."

Click here to read story, from Ottawa Citizen (Ottawa, Canada) 5/16/10

Pierce Transit to re-dedicate WWII plaque

"The memorial plaque was originally installed in October 1948 and was stolen in September 2007. The thieves sold it to a metal recycling business. The plaque was eventually identified and returned to Pierce Transit. The bronze plaque required extensive repair and is now ready to be reinstalled in its original location."

Click here to read story, from Tacoma Daily Indes (Tacoma, Wa) 5/13/10

War hero's ashes and plaque disappear

"THE family of a war hero who fought in both world wars are left devastated after his memorial at a park cemetery were removed by authorities."

Click here to read story, from Herald Sun(Melbourne City, Australia)5/23/10

Push on to replace battered police memorial

"Orange County's memorial to fallen law-enforcement officers has been scuffed and scratched, tagged and trampled. People have urinated on its bronze plaques. On Wednesday, someone smudged it with blood."

Click here to read story, from Orange County Register (Santa Ana, CA) 5/19/10

Dishonorable: Thieves make off with 35 bronze, aluminum veterans' plaques missing from causeway

"This mystery has left Muskegon police and veterans' officials baffled and a little sad.

In the last three weeks, 35 bronze or aluminum markers honoring Muskegon County military veterans have gone missing from the Veterans Memorial Trail at The Veterans Memorial Park, better known as the Causeway."

Click here to read story, from Muskegon News (Muskegon,MI) 5/8/10

Veterans Take Hill With Manchester WWII Park

"While many combat hardened veterans may or may not share their stories, and some may choose to quietly put their past behind them, a group of warriors -many in their 80s and 90s- still had one more hill to take."

Click here to read story, from DVIDS (FORT DIX, N.J.) 4/28/10

Vandals strike at grave of great Scottish naturalist

"After former Aberdeen University professor William MacGillivray died in 1852, his former students raised a memorial for him at his plot in the New Calton Burial Ground in Edinburgh."

Click here to read story,from The Press and Journal (Aberdeen, UK)4/27/10

95-year-old mystery of Digger’s plaque

The plaque went astray, but no one know how.

Click here to read the story, from The Manly Daily (Australia) 4/26/10

Plaque stolen from Natick Town Common

"A thief has pried a bronze plaque from a memorial on the town common honoring six Natick men killed in the Spanish-American War."

Click here to read story, from Metrowest Daily News (Framingham MA) 4/15/10

Statue at former RAF base cleaned up after graffiti attack Read more: http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1687647?UserKey=#ixzz0o8x1e15Y

"A BRONZE statue commemorating the work of a former north-east Royal Air Force base has been returned to its former glory after being defaced by vandals."

Click here to read story, from The Press and Journal (Aberdeen, UK) 4/13/10

Arizona couple won't see son's plaque when they visit his grave

"Carole and Emmett Crain planned to visit their 25-year-old son's grave on a trip to the South Bay from Arizona on Wednesday.

But when they stop by the former Lawndale man's resting place at Pacific Crest Cemetery in Redondo Beach, they won't see the name Mark Todd Crain on a plaque.

Thieves pried the 18-pound bronze marker from the site last week, presumably to sell it for scrap metal."

Click here to read the story, from dailybreeze.com (Torrance, Ca) 4/12/10

‘Freedom fighters’ deface Boddam RAF statue

Vandals have defaced a striking bronze statue commemorating the servicemen and women who served at a now defunct north-east Royal Air Force base.

Click here to read the story, from The Press and Journal (Aberdeen, UK) 44/10/10

Newton man charged in plaque thefts; Watertown connection suspected

A pilferer of historical plaques has wreaked havoc across the area for several weeks, swiping tablets from Newton's Country Day School, Memorial Monument Rock at Newton City Hall and the Johnny Kelley statue. Police have arrested a man in connection with two other plaque thefts, one in Newton and one in Belmont.

Click here to read the story, from watertown@cnc.com (Watertown, MA) 3/31/10

Man Arrested For Stealing Bronze Memorial Plaques

A man is under arrest for stealing several bronze memorial plaques.

Click here to read the story, from WBZTV.COM (Boston, MA) 3/31/10

William Penn plaque again stolen in Chester

Less than five months after the dedication in Chester of a bronze plaque - itself a replacement for a historic marker that had been stolen - the plaque has been swiped again.

Click here to read story from Philly.com (Philadelphia, PA) 3/13/10.

Merced Assembly Center Memorial honors Japanese American internees

MERCED.—A memorial to the Japanese Americans interned at the Merced Assembly Center was dedicated on Feb. 20.
“It was a wonderful dedication we thought we’d have just a few people but ended up with 1,500 people or so,” said Sherman Kishi, a member of the Merced Assembly Center Commemorative Committee.

Click here to read story, from Rafu Shimpo (Los Angeles, CA)3/6/10.

Muscatine workers ease soldier monument to ground

It's been 135 years since hands have touched it.

Now, the Civil War memorial soldier, which stood a silent watch over the Muscatine County Courthouse, has come down to be saved from more damage by the Earth's elements.

Click here to read story, from The Quad-City Times, (Davenport, IA) 3/6/10.

Vets install plaques on Wall of Honor

A moving ceremony, held Wednesday at the Veterans' Memorial at the Chief Tecopa Cemetery, celebrated the lives of two men important to Pahrump volunteer Tom Waters, a Purple Heart recipient who served in Vietnam.

Click here to read the story, from Pahrump Valley Times (Pahrump, NV) 2/26/10.

A trail of remembrance

New trail honors the 10th Mountain Division, a famed Army unit that trained on Mount Rainier early in World War II. This is a perfect example of the effect a bronze plaque can have on the people who encounter them.

Click here to read the story, from theolympian.com (Olympia, WA) 2/28/10

Verwood memorial plaque in honour of hero Phil Allen

A bronze plaque is to be added to Verwood’s war memorial in honour of a solider killed in Afghanistan.

Click here to read story, from Daily Echo (Richmond Hill, Bournemouth, UK) 2/24/10

Bronze plaques stolen from gravesites at North Miami cemetery

More than 100 bronze name plaques were stolen at a North Miami cemetery in the past two weeks...

Click here to read story from SunSentinel.com (Fort Lauderdale, FL) 2/16/10.

Plaque hack at Anderson Cooper's new place

Before he bought his century-old firehouse in Greenwich Village, bronze plaques honoring members of Fire Patrol 2 who died in the line of duty -- including on 9/11 -- were stripped from the building to make it easier to sell.

Click here to read the story, from the New York Post (New York, NY) 2/8/10

Central Jersey thieves target memorial plaques to veterans

"It's disgraceful that someone would demean the memories of people who have served their country," said Superintendent of Schools Dr. James Baker, following the latest incident — the disappearence of a brass plaque that had been mounted on a stone outside Middlesex High School.

Click here to read the story from MyCentralJersey.com (Middlesex Borough, NJ)2/2/10

Scout project monument to be set in place Monday

More than two years ago, Boy Scout Tom Smith set his sights high for his Eagle project — raising money to erect a 17-foot high monument commemorating 100 years of Scouting in the United States.

Click here to read story, from Davis County Clipper (Bountiful, Utah)2/4/10.

Plaque honors Anderson men killed in recent wars

A new bronze plaque recognizing Anderson County residents killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars has been affixed to the war memorial in front of the Anderson County Courthouse.

Click here to read story, from knoxnews.com (Knoxville, TN)2/2/10

Oilworker Monument moving forward

The funding, design and sculpting of the Oilworker Monument are moving right ahead, and the largest bronze work of its type in California should be ready to dedicate at the opening of Taft’s Diamond Jubilee Oildorado Celebration on Oct. 15.

Click here to read story, from taftmidwaydriller.com (Taft, CA ) 2/1/10

North Plainfield plaque disappearances mirror Plainfield incident

Authorities are investigating whether there is a connection between the recent disappearances of three historical plaques, one in Plainfield's Green Brook Park and two others a quarter-mile away in the borough's Memorial Park.

Click here to read story. From MyCentralJersey.com (Plainfield, NJ) 1/20/2010

Plainfield historical plaque disappears from park

City and county police are trying to determine who made off with a Green Brook Park historical plaque that commemorated a pivotal moment in the Revolutionary War. Click here to read story, from MyCentralJersey.com (Plainfield, NJ) 1/19/2010