BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — Broken Arrow police are investigating after someone vandalized multiple flags outside the Military History Center.
Flags from every branch of the military typically fly outside of the center to honor those who have served. Now, there are currently no flags.
“It’s sad," said Dennis Hoch, supervisor of the docents at the Military History Center. "We’ve never really had anything like this happen.”
The first thing Hoch does every morning when he gets to the Military History Center is check on the flags outside. They were fine last Wednesday morning. Then later that day, they discovered something was wrong.
“One of my docents came into work and he asked me when he first came in, he said, 'What’s the deal with the flags?" Hoch said. "And I said, 'What do you mean?' And he said, 'Well go look at them.' And I did. And this is what I found.”
At least four of the flags were damaged. The Navy flag was ripped in half and the Medal of Honor flag is missing. The Air Force and Marine flags were also ripped and parts of them missing.
“These two here, that’s one of the first things I did, I started looking for the part that had been torn off and nothing," Hoch said. "Nothing. So they ripped it and took it.”
Hoch first thought maybe it was the wind, but after showing the flags to Broken Arrow police officers, they determined it was vandalism.
“What’s crazy about it is, it was done in broad daylight," Hoch said. "And hopefully there’s some film at the chamber of commerce and the school offices across the street.”
The flags are typically flying until Dec. 7 when they get taken down for the winter. They were especially important this week as Veterans Day approaches. Hoch hopes whoever did this, along with others, will learn the sacrifices veterans go through.
“People need to know that you have your freedoms because of this," Hoch said. "Marines and stuff like that that have paid the ultimate sacrifice.”
Broken Arrow Police are still investigating the vandalism.
The center is working on replacing the flags, but it’s going to cost about $500. If you'd like to help pay for a new flag, they said to give them a call at (918) 794-2712.
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