They continue to steal monuments and markers of War Veterans

[Omaha Steve]

It is not just an Omaha problem. It is growing nationally.

Marta returned for new photos for our web page. We already knew about the monument below. Marta's old photos show several Veteran's markers from Indian Wars on to the Korean War are missing.



This is a monument and statue erected to honor the Spanish American war dead in the cemetery. The monument used to sit right next to the circular turnaround that holds the flagpole. It was stolen back in 2008 and has not yet been found. If you know where the statue might be, please call the Omaha Police on 402-444-5600.

When I was very young, in the early to late 60’s and the very early 70’s, we used to go to my grandmother’s every Sunday. She lived on 33 and Hamilton, and we drove by Prospect Hill every week. This statue was the only thing I could really see as we drove by, and I always wanted to stop and see the rest of the cemetery, because the statue was so interesting. My mother didn’t like cemeteries, but we did stop once and I explored the place for a little while. It was on this first visit that I saw the George and Caroline Moore marker, with the pictures of their cute dogs. In those years the cemetery was mostly abandoned, and it was in very bad shape, so there might have been a practical reason for her not wanting to go in. In any case, I am happy to report that the cemetery looks so well today.

[arcane1]

1. Why are they being stolen? Do you know?

Meth-heads recycling the bronze, perhaps?

It does seem like an odd thing to steal.

[Spider Jerusalem]

2. I would guess that it's been sold and melted for the copper content

same as with thieves stealing copper wiring from transformers, junction boxes, and such. Copper prices increased from around 60¢ a pound in 2002 to over $3 per pound. Just typing "copper theft" into Google news search returns stories from the UK and all over the US. https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=copper+theft&num=100&safe=off&source=univ&tbm=nws&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=2BrGUZKUMcaJhQfh54H4Bw&ved=0CFkQqAI&biw=1341&bih=877

[NaturalHigh]

3. That's despicable.

[Omaha Steve]

4. We were getting ready to leave when I posted this and forgot to include the links

We hope the statue in the photo is in somebody's back yard and someday will be found. The smaller copper items were probably sold to a metal recycling business.

Here is a link to the front page of this site: http://www.steveandmarta.com/graveyards/prospect_hill/prospect_main.htm

Our main graveyards page for every Omaha area cemetery: http://www.steveandmarta.com/graveyards/grave_main.htm

[flamingdem]

5. K&R

[Archae]

6. By now that statue has been melted down.

For the copper, by tweakers.

Tweakers even tried (and failed) to steal Reagan's statue.