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Soldiers’ grave marker thefts outrage Ontario community
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Daily Brew
Thieves are rarely a compassionate lot, but the ones who swiped over 150 metal maple leaf markers off the graves of Canadian soldiers from a St. Catharines, Ont., cemetery were particularly callous.
As QMI Agency reports, the grave markers, which commemorate the efforts of the men and women who served their country in battle, were reported stolen from the Victoria Lawn Cemetery last week. The Canadian flags that accompanied the markers had been tossed into a careless pile nearby.
"These people don't realize what we did for the world," World War II veteran Harry Dobell, 91, told QMI in response to the thefts. "I feel very mad about it."
Two local men have been charged with one count of theft over $5,000. Dave Jewers, 41, and Chris Brisley, 36, were accused of pilfering the markers—which weigh approximately 2.25 kilograms each and cost up to $50 to make—and selling them for scrap metal.
Although police suspect the thefts took place earlier, the missing markers weren't reported until Tuesday morning when a member of the cemetery grounds crew noticed they were gone.
Niagara Regional Police Staff Sgt. Shawn Clarkson told QMI that thanks to help from the public, their street crimes unit was able to hone in on the accused within two hours of receiving the tipoff.
The trail led police to a nearby scrap yard, where the officers managed to recover between 80 and 90 stolen markers. Clarkson expects the remaining markers will be returned to the cemetery. The scrap yard has, so far, been cooperative, although "there are some questions the [scrap yard] will have to answer," Clarkson said.
Meanwhile, cemetery staff has already started returning the markers to their rightful spots. But the development did little to quell the anger of Mike Gander of the Royal Canadian Legion branch 138.
"Stealing from veterans' graves is just absolutely disgusting," he told QMI, adding that a number of markers had been stolen from the graves of friends.
Gander managed to perfectly sum up the underlying cause of his outrage.
"These veterans gave them the privilege to be here to steal," he said.
The accused are scheduled to appear in court next month.
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