Twenty-one U.S. flags were stolen from veterans’ graves in South Carolina on the Fourth of July and later burned by unsuspecting vandals.
Employees of Forest Lawn Cemetery in Anderson, South Carolina, showed up to work the day after the holiday to discover 21 charred, pulled up American flags that lined the pathway to the veterans’ mausoleum at the cemetery, according to a Facebook post from the local funeral home.
“On the night of July the 4th, someone pulled up 21 American Flags that lined the roadway to our Veteran’s Mausoleum and had the nerve to burn them, yes burn them, on the lawn right in front of where our Veteran’s and their families rest in peace,” the post read.
WSPA reported that the 21 battered flags out of the 30 flags in the mausoleum were placed in an area set aside for deceased veterans.
“We can replace the flags, it’s just the hurt of those families who have had people buried there and to find they had burned 21 flags, it really disappoints you,” said the funeral home’s director.
Police in the area are currently investigating the incident, and are urging people with information to contact Forest Lawn Cemetery or the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office.