![Who stole U.S. flags from NJ vet graves? You won’t believe it](https://townsquare.media/site/385/files/2024/05/attachment-cem.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Who stole U.S. flags from NJ vet graves? You won’t believe it
◼1,800 flags were set out in nine Monmouth County cemeteries
◼Flags were removed from the same grave sites in 2023
◼Last year's thefts were not reported to police
NEPTUNE TOWNSHIP —The case of the stolen American flags from a Monmouth County cemetery has been solved.
Commander Gary Crawford of American Legion #346 in Neptune Township said that flags were set out in six cemeteries on Sunday. The flags were removed from 20 graves at Mount Prospect Cemetery in Neptune Township sometime between Sunday and Monday, according to Crawford.
"For this to happen right before Memorial Day is an insult to our veterans. Our crew placed 1,800 flags in six cemeteries, and fired rifle volleys over nine cemeteries this past Sunday. We work hard to honor our fallen, and then we see this," Crawford said.
The thieves are not who everyone expected.
ALSO READ: Holding onto tradition: Memorial Day parades this year in NJ
Furry thieves
Deputy Chief Michael J. McGhee told New Jersey 101.5 that after News 12 aired a report about the flags, they received a tip from a viewer in Totowa.
"We have a bunch of evidence that either squirrels and or foxes ripped the flags apart and used them to line their nest or den," McGhee said. "We sent a detective out and they said they looked at it. They said these things are kind of chopped up and that there's remnants. They weren't just pulled out of the ground."
The tipster said a similar thing happened in Totowa.
"It was some unpatriotic squirrels or small animals," McGhee said, adding that he was glad a person wasn't responsible.
Crawford told News 12 that the American Legion post has plenty of flags to replace what was taken.
The "theft" of the flags comes as World War II veteran Harry Lynch, their oldest member, recently died at the age of 99.
Report a correction | Contact our newsroom
Memorial Day Parades in New Jersey 2024 (alphabetical)
Gallery Credit: Dan Alexander
NJ's crazy haze, choking smoke, and sinister sky
Gallery Credit: Dan Zarrow
Get fired up at these NJ hot chicken restaurants
Gallery Credit: Erin Vogt
More From WPG Talk Radio 95.5 FM
![NJ school sued over ‘extended and persistent’ bullying before girl’s death](http://townsquare.media/site/385/files/2024/06/attachment-Jocelyn-Jocey-Walters-courtesy-Fred-Walters.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Justice for Ellie: NJ sicko gets max prison for sex-torture of cat](http://townsquare.media/site/385/files/2024/04/attachment-cat-ellie-asbury-park.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![‘Mystery whale’ is second of year to strand at Jersey Shore](http://townsquare.media/site/385/files/2024/06/attachment-Whale.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Several parent groups in NJ labeled as conspiracy extremists](http://townsquare.media/site/385/files/2024/06/attachment-SPLC-adds-NJ-groups-in-extremist-report-SPLC-Canva.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Woman saved from overdose during DWI checkpoint in Monmouth County, NJ](http://townsquare.media/site/564/files/2024/06/attachment-Woman-saved-from-overdose-during-DWI-checkpoint-in-Monmouth-County-NJ.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![NJ son faces manslaughter charge after father’s sudden death](http://townsquare.media/site/385/files/2024/06/attachment-NJ-man-charged-after-causing-dads-death-Middletown-Kyle-Kiernan-Facebook-Day-Funeral-Home.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Juvenile and man charged in deadly Asbury Park, NJ triple shooting](http://townsquare.media/site/385/files/2024/06/attachment-Lativity-Lyons.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Man who stopped to help gets car stolen from dark NJ crash site](http://townsquare.media/site/385/files/2024/06/attachment-195-sigm1AC.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![‘Real Housewives of New Jersey’ ex-husband convicted of violent crime](http://townsquare.media/site/385/files/2024/06/attachment-Dina-Manzo-Cantin-in-ARCHIVE-photo-Ilya-S.-Savenok_Getty-Images-Google-Maps-Canva.jpg?w=980&q=75)