Flags Taken From Soldier Memorial Honoring Those Killed in War on Terror

Several American flags were taken from a Kentucky soldier memorial in what police are investigating as a possible theft.

The "Healing Field" in Lawrenceville, Ky. started five years ago and contains 103 flag poles, each holding an American flag — one for each Kentucky service member killed in battle since the Sept. 11 attacks.

Shirley Thornberry, a member of the committee that maintains the Healing Field, told Lexington's WKYT-TV she noticed the missing flags Wednesday morning.

"I noticed the ropes were hanging down, loose," Thornberry said. "The flags were missing."

Nettie Halvorson was also one of the ones who noticed several of the flags were gone from the memorial site.

"I tried to think of who in the world would need a flag so badly that they'd steal it. If they wanted one, they could have asked," Halvorson said.

Members of American Legion Post 34 have run up new flags to replace those that had been taken.

"It's very heart wrenching to know that we have a memorial this sacred, that anyone would take flags off of the flag poles," Pam Rice, vice president of the American Legion Auxiliary told the station.

Halvorson said that when she watched the replacement flags being raised, she thought to herself, "Thank you, God, those boys aren't forgotten."