'We will find you,' Georgia sheriff warns thieves who vandalized veterans' memorial

The monument was an imposing image of sacrifice and valor. A veterans' memorial at the Walk of Heroes Veterans Memorial in Conyers, Ga., showed five service members holding the world on their shoulders. It was meant to honor all those who had served.

But sometime around 2 a.m. Sunday, a white truck pulled up the memorial. When it pulled away, the memorial was in shambles, the Rockdale Newton Citizen reported.

Two of the bronze soldier statues were gone, as well as the giant, 800-pound bronze globe and multiple bronze plaques, the Rockdale County Sheriff's Office said in a statement on Facebook. The three remaining service members now stand alone on a bare pedestal, surrounded by pavers bearing the names of fallen soldiers.

“This is a dishonorable and disheartening act for what we stand for in America,” said Sheriff Eric J. Levett. “Someone trying to tarnish and destroy the place where we recognize our country’s heroes will not be tolerated. We will find you.”

The office wrote that a $5,000 cash reward was being offered by Billy Corey of U.S. Enterprises Inc. to anyone who provides information leading to an arrest of the suspects.

The theft hit Walk of Heroes board director Darin Riggs hard. "When I went up there Monday morning to meet with the county, I felt like I was walking into a funeral,” Riggs told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It was that type of sick feeling of disgust.”

Tommy Clack, chairman of the memorial board, told the Rockdale Newton Citizen replacing the memorial could cost as much as $250,000. "All we can do is keep positive and move forward. These things happen in life. We don’t need to let them get us down. We’ve still got a great memorial out there, and it will be open to the public again soon," he told the paper.

Police said on Facebook that they believe the weight of the materials means there probably are multiple suspects. The suspected vehicle was described as a 1995-2000 Toyota truck, towing a trailer with wood-lined floors and railings.

Wheeler, a former commission chair who 11 Alive reports helped come up with the idea for the memorial, told the station he believes the thieves were gonig after the bronze as scrap metal.

"“I don’t think anybody would steal it if they couldn’t sell it… to dispose of it in some way," he told the station.

Walk of Heroes board director Darin Riggs also told the AJC he thought the motive may have been metal thievery, especially because nothing else about the memorial was vandalized "They did not do any other additional vandalism. They didn’t spray paint, beat down walls or tear up other items," he told the paper.

The sheriff's office directed anyone with information about the case to contact Corporal Jeremy Best at 770-278-8160. Anonymous tips can be submitted through Crime Stoppers Greater Atlanta at 404-577-TIPS (8477).

This story was originally published December 21, 2017 at 7:52 AM with the headline "'We will find you,' Georgia sheriff warns thieves who vandalized veterans' memorial."