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Military Marker Stolen Off Grave

Maureen Wurtz

COUNCIL BLUFFS (KPTM)- Visiting a loved ones grave can be comforting for many, but for one Council Bluffs woman, a recent trip to her father's final resting place only added to her grief.

Lori Brown and her family come to a cemetery in Council Bluffs every couple of weeks. "So I can bring my Mom up because she likes to see the grave," said Brown.

Brown visits her father's grave, William H. Collier.  Collier died April 2011.

It was a routine visit on August 31^st when Brown and her son noticed something missing. "My son looked at the stone and saw that it was missing," said Brown. "Our mouths just dropped open and we couldn't believe it."

Brown's talking about a military plaque on her fathers tombstone. Her father served in World War II from 1942-45.

"Think about what you're doing and how the family's feeling," said Brown, in a message to the thieves.

"I'd like to replace it, but in a way, I'm wondering if they'll come back and just take another one," said Brown.

Brown said the plaque may have been worth a couple hundred dollars, but the message on it was priceless. "It showed anybody else that was around that he was in the military and it gave him more of a distinguished honor."

An honor that Brown and her family hold on tight too.