Five flags from a display that honors veterans and fallen service members have been stolen, and now the Massachusetts committee in charge of the display is asking for their return.
The Mansfield Field of Honor Committee put up 350 flags earlier this month, each dedicated to “someone’s hero,” according to committee member Jeri Rumsis.
“It’s just in honor of people that we love,” committee member Tina Silverio said. “Everyone here, every flag has a name on it. Every name is someone who has a story that’s not forgotten. They’re loved.”
Five flags in total were cut from their poles, including a firefighter’s flag, a police department flag, a POW/MIA flag, a Navy banner and a flag that honors all of the heroes.
Each one of these flags is dedicated to a veteran or a fallen service member – so when five of them were stolen it hit hard. The tearful message the organizers of the “Field of Honor” have for the thieves ahead on @boston25 at 10. pic.twitter.com/hoAnKeNuKp
— Elysia Rodriguez (@ElysiaBoston25) June 11, 2018
The committee said that the flags had to be moved to fill in the display so it didn’t appear as if flags were missing.
“It’s pretty low,” a committee member told Fox 25 Boston. “This is a Field of Honor [for] the military, veterans, first responders. All these flags mean something to somebody, so whoever stole those, if they needed them that bad, we would have given them a flag. But to take a flag and leave the field hollow is embarrassing.”
Money from the event each year goes toward veterans’ charities and scholarships.
The incident is currently under investigation.
