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American flags at grave sites in East Greenbush shredded, used to hold up tomato plants
WNYT News ^ | August 27, 2018 | Staff

Posted on 08/27/2018 8:24:39 AM PDT by Fitzy_888

EAST GREENBUSH – Kristen Coyne goes to Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in East Greenbush every week. While there, she visits her parents and her son Tyler's grave sites. Tyler was 18 when he died of a brain tumor two years ago.

She’s recently noticed all of the love, care and meticulous placement of sentimental objects was gone.

"The first time I saw the emptiness of my son's grave, I was just heartbroken," said Coyne. "I don't even know if a sorry would cut it. That's the least that should happen."

Maria Reardon is also outraged. She visits her parents' graves regularly. She said besides the muddy grass clippings on the tombstones, she was also upset to discover several missing items. That included her father's VFW plaque recognizing his military service in World War II and a missing American flag.

"The only thing I would want to have known is why we weren't informed of this beforehand," explained Reardon. "We would have straightened up ourselves and I think most people would."

People said they weren't notified that personal items, such as photographs, urns, and special messages needed to be removed so that caretakers could cut the grass. Many items are irreplaceable, such as soldier medallions, many of which date back to the Civil War.

"We learned about everything being cleared out the hard way, just showing up one day," said Coyne.

Although families said they've been able to retrieve lost items piled up near a maintenance shed, many were still left wondering what happened to all the American flags that disappeared from the grave sites. But when you look behind the maintenance shed, there’s a vegetable garden. In there people can see the red, white, and blue shreds of American flags that have been tied to the tomato plants, holding them in place.

"I think this is disrespectful, disloyal, un-American," said Reardon. "It's obviously just carelessness, thoughtlessness, a lack of respect."

Coyne felt the same way.

"Flags taken from my son's, my parents', many people’s graves and cut up like this to be used in such an ungrateful, un-loyal way, it's just mind-blowing that anyone would even do this," added Coyne.

Reardon said she would like an apology for what has happened.

"I don't know about making good, but I think it would go a long way if they put an article or something in the newspaper with an apology to people," explained Reardon.

NewsChannel 13 left a message with church office that runs the cemetery, but have yet to hear back.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: New York
KEYWORDS: americanflag; tomato; tomatoes

1 posted on 08/27/2018 8:24:39 AM PDT by Fitzy_888
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To: Fitzy_888
"I think this is disrespectful, disloyal, un-American," said Reardon. "It's obviously just carelessness, thoughtlessness, a lack of respect."

Keep voting Democrat and eventually we won't even be allowed to fly the flag.

2 posted on 08/27/2018 8:28:13 AM PDT by 1Old Pro
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To: Fitzy_888

Perhaps they exhumed the bodies to process them into fertilizer for the vegetable garden. No use in letting perfectly good nitrogenous matter go to waste.


3 posted on 08/27/2018 8:32:06 AM PDT by oblomov
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To: Fitzy_888
One thing we know for sure: The corrupt New York Times and Washington Post will NOT pick up this story. Either will the AP...
4 posted on 08/27/2018 8:33:31 AM PDT by GOPJ (ANYONE asking YOU to be violent is an FBI undercover cop or thug from the SPLC - YOU are warned...)
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To: 1Old Pro
"Keep voting Democrat and eventually we won't even be allowed to fly the flag."

Flying the Flag would hurt the self esteem of the ungrateful "immigrants" and liberals.

5 posted on 08/27/2018 8:42:03 AM PDT by SkyDancer ( ~ Just Consider Me A Random Fact Generator ~ Eat Sleep Fly Repeat ~)
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To: Fitzy_888

Where is East Greenbush? Is it a part of NYC?


6 posted on 08/27/2018 8:45:33 AM PDT by reg45 (Barack 0bama: Gone but not forgiven.)
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To: Fitzy_888

New York is a nest of hate for America, and the landscaping guys are probably Mexican and just see cloth when they see the flag.

The GOP has utterly sodomized this country well and good. At this point they now say that around 40 million people living here that are foreign born.

There are certain speeds, attitudes and altitudes that there is no possible way to stop a plane crash. The USA seems to be in one.


7 posted on 08/27/2018 8:45:49 AM PDT by DesertRhino (Dog is man's best friend, and moslems hate dogs. Add that up. ....)
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To: reg45
Where is East Greenbush? Is it a part of NYC?

Right near Albany, the capital.

8 posted on 08/27/2018 8:47:09 AM PDT by 1Old Pro
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To: Fitzy_888

I’d suggest burning down the maintenance shed. They obviously aren’t using it, since they don’t know how to do maintenance. I’d also have the non-maintainers arrested for desecrating the graves. If it was all somehow accidental or a misunderstanding, let them try that story on a jury of veterans and veterans’ relatives.


9 posted on 08/27/2018 8:47:12 AM PDT by SamuraiScot
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To: Fitzy_888

“But when you look behind the maintenance shed, there’s a vegetable garden. In there people can see the red, white, and blue shreds of American flags that have been tied to the tomato plants, holding them in place.”

I thought it was just the Confederate flag they wanted to dishonor.

Now I think something bigger is going on.


10 posted on 08/27/2018 8:59:34 AM PDT by jeffersondem
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To: Fitzy_888

This is probably the result of employing ignorant, illiterate illegals to cut the grass at the cemetery. Cutting up the American flags and using the shreds for such a mundane task as tying up tomatoes (which I would confiscate and give to a senior center) is the height of disrespectful, and I could absolutely see the ignorant illegals doing something like that. I saw the “before” picture—a great many of the vases and other objects were actually not on the grass at all, but on the footing of the tombstones. Why would they interfere with cutting the grass? And why would the loved ones of the deceased not have received a memo asking them to temporarily remove the vases for a mowing? Instead, they were tossed up against a shed in utter disrespect. I would find out who is responsible for the maintenance of the lawn and FIRE them immediately. There may even be laws they broke about defacing graves, and if so, I’d have them charged. What they did to these graves was inexcusable, disrespectful, and disgusting, and cannot be tolerated.


11 posted on 08/27/2018 9:05:39 AM PDT by EinNYC
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To: SamuraiScot
I’d suggest burning down the maintenance shed.

A good start.

12 posted on 08/27/2018 9:09:52 AM PDT by facedown (Armed in the Heartland)
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To: Fitzy_888
She’s recently noticed all of the love, care and meticulous placement of sentimental objects was gone....

... several missing items. That included her father's VFW plaque ....

She should hit the flea markets/swap meets and garage sales to find the missing items.

Seriously.

13 posted on 08/27/2018 9:39:20 AM PDT by Calvin Locke
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To: Fitzy_888

http://www.holysepulchre.org/wordpress/full-rules-regulations/

Prohibited Decorations
Due to legal and safety concerns, some decorations are not allowed on cemetery grounds. Please be respectful of the following listing of prohibited decorations, to ensure the safety of our staff and visitors, and the perpetual beauty of our grounds.

• Artificial flowers
• Ceramic or glass objects
• Shepherd’s hooks
• Crosses
• Temporary grave markers or plaques
• Statues
• Toys or novelties
• Fraternal or military emblems


14 posted on 08/27/2018 9:42:35 AM PDT by Roccus (When you talk to a politician...ANY politician...always say, "Remember Ceausescu")
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To: All
Gov Cuomo is to issue a statement b/c cleaning out the cemetery proves America is not that great.

(Photoshop and text courtesy of FReeper poconopundit).

15 posted on 08/27/2018 10:35:11 AM PDT by Liz ( Our side has 8 trillion bullets; the other side doesn't know which bathroom to use.)
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To: Calvin Locke

I was recently told that leaving stones at a Jewish grave visited would break cemetery lawnmowers.


16 posted on 08/27/2018 10:53:49 AM PDT by pabianice
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To: Fitzy_888

The flags are good for about a week. Then the get faded and tattered. Most cemeteries have them down before the 4th of July.

Most cemeteries also have rules about “stuff” that can be left.

Try keeping a cemetery in good shape (lawn-wise) in a hot wet summer like this year. The grass is growing like crazy. Cleaning up around gravestones is a major effort.

It would be nice if people took two seconds to examine the rules of the cemetery before they posted a complaint session about how the world has gone to hell.

(And...once the flags are pulled and the flags themselves destroyed, who gives a crap who uses the wooden posts.)


17 posted on 08/27/2018 11:56:59 AM PDT by Vermont Lt
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To: Fitzy_888

One of the proper ways to retire the flag is fire. Napalm applied liberally to the scattered flag remnants would be thorough.


18 posted on 08/27/2018 2:00:08 PM PDT by Ozark Tom
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To: Ozark Tom

That garden would be stomped flat and sowed with rock salt if that happened to my parent’s graves.

Nothing would ever grow there again.


19 posted on 08/27/2018 3:29:35 PM PDT by moovova
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To: 1Old Pro

Oh we’ll be able to still fly the flag...but apparently only at half mast when McCain dies


20 posted on 08/28/2018 3:51:41 AM PDT by albie
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