Marion Police Return Patriotic Property

By Josh Hinkle, Anchor/Reporter

Tools

By Josh Hinkle

Story Created: Sep 7, 2008 at 11:21 AM CST

Story Updated: Sep 7, 2008 at 5:48 PM CST

MARION - While most residents in this Marion neighborhood manicure their lawns, Les Seeley prefers to memorialize his.

His neighbor, Brian Dobler, says, "It looks good on the corner. I tell people I live next door to the guy with flags on the corner."

Every summer, Les, a former Army Specialist, places 26 "Old Glories" along his lawn.

He says, "A lot of people will honk their horns, a lot of people will wave, and we just had one guy drive by a give the thumbs up."

While neighbors seem to like the display, someone else didn't. Every flag went missing on Memorial Day.

"To me, I don't think that's all that fun."

Les decided to take another stab at it when Labor Day rolled around. Then the patriotic prankster struck again.

His neighbor, Tiffany Morris, recalls, "I said, 'Oh he didn't take them down. They were stolen again.'"

Les remembers his reaction, saying, "There was a few cuss words that came out of my mouth."

A few days later, a man across town woke up to find Les's flags plus about a dozen others stuck in his own yard. That means Les wasn't the only one hit. Now he worries, this red, white, and blue crime spree isn't over.

He says, "My wife's even asked me not to put them out, and I said, 'It ain't going to stop me in the least bit.'"

And it didn't. With Les re-staking those stars and stripes in his yard Sunday morning, neighbors hope it sends a message of respect to their thief.

Jim Ginther, says, "Just mind their own business and leave other people's things alone."

Les also wants people to respect and remember what these flags represent. It might not be a holiday anymore, but their return is reason enough for him to celebrate.

He adds, "The way I've always been and the way I always will be."

Over the course of the two thefts, Les lost 52 flags. Marion police were able to return 49 of them. They still don't know who took them in the first place, though Les suspects some local teenagers.

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