EASTSOUND, Wash., May 29 (UPI) -- Vandals twice destroyed U.S. flags placed on veterans graves on Washington's Orcas Island and replaced them with swastikas this Memorial Day weekend.
Orcas Island American Legion members and friends placed more than 100 small American flags on graves in Woodlawn Cemetery Saturday evening. During the night, 46 flags were stolen and 33 were burned, and 14 swastika-bearing pieces of paper were left in their place, the San Juan Islander in Friday Harbor, Wash., reported Tuesday.
After the damage was discovered Sunday morning, the veterans group quickly replaced them and posted a guard until 4 a.m. Monday. But shortly thereafter, the vandals struck again, cutting up more flags and putting out 33 of Nazi symbols.
"It was an outrage," said Bob Folk, a Vietnam veteran and former American Legion Post 93 commander. "Just the thought of doing it... ."
San Juan County Sheriff Bill Cumming said it was being investigated as a hate crime but no arrests had been made.
"This is not an act of free speech, this is a crime," he said in a statement Monday.
Despite the setbacks, the veterans ultimately prevailed, printing up 100 flags and putting them on the graves yet a third time.
