WELLSVILLE, N.Y. — "It is disturbing," said Wellsville Police Chief Timothy O'Grady, as he stood near several vandalized graves in Sacred Heart Cemetery, where plaques designating their service to the country had been removed from the headstones of 13 veterans buried there.
The thefts, believed to have occurred Sunday night, were discovered by cemetery caretakers on Monday.
"We've called several of our local scrap yards and asked them to give us information if anyone attempts to sell any of the plaques," O'Grady said.
When members of Morrison Hayes Post 702 of the American Legion heard about it, they immediately put up a $2,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible, according to Post Commander Brent Roberts.
Not long after that, other service groups and individuals began adding to the reward fund, to the point that in just a few days it has grown to nearly $10,000.
"These include people who were not veterans, and even people who have not had family members who have served, calling to ask what they could do to help out," confirmed the Post's First Vice, Dena Helms.
"This is evil"
As cemetery officials worked in the early part of the week to notify the loved one of those whose graves were desecrated, others who have loved ones buried there, and who heard about it, rushed down to see for themselves, according to cemetery caretaker Joe Hennessey.
"It's heartbreaking really," Hennessey said. "These plaques are precious to the survivors of those who served."
"Who would do something like this?" asked Cindy Brown-Fracasse, who lives four hours from Wellsville in Liberty, New York, and happened to be in town helping her brother settle their late parent's estate when her sister notified her of the vandalism and urged her to visit the cemetery.
Both their father and grandfather were veterans and are buried at Sacred Heart.
Relieved that her relative's graves were not disturbed, she then turned her attention to the loved ones of those whose graves were.
"This is just evil. I mean ... they served our country," she said, as her voice shook with emotion. "It's like ripping your heart out. So, to whoever has them, bring them back!"
A community responds
"When somebody goes to the length of desecrating a grave, I think most of our community looks at that as crossing a line," said Chief O'Grady, who added that police will continue to track down leads in the case.
Meanwhile, Allegany County Director of Veterans Affairs Michael Hennessey, who is the brother of cemetery caretaker Joe Hennessy, told 2 On Your Side he has already done the paperwork to order new plaques from the Department of Veterans Affairs, and that a local monument company has already offered to install them free of charge.
"This is an area where there is a lot of patriotism and where people tend to come together and do what they can to help each other out," he said.