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thedrifter
02-16-06, 11:47 AM
Vandalism Of Brunswick Marine's Grave Either Protest Or Prank
WJXT News4Jax.com

A family is searching for answers and police are searching for a thief after the grave of a Marine killed last year in Iraq was vandalized last weekend.

A full-size bronze replica of John Stalver's M-16, boots and helmet was stolen from the Brunswick cemetary where the 22-year-old Marine Corps corporal is buried.

Stalvey was killed by a roadside bomb last October.

His mother said the theft was a political protest or a mean-spirited prank.

"As soon as I arrived there and saw the empty spot, it was like they had killed my son again," said Stalvey's mother, Crystal Merillat. "Why would anybody do something like that?"

"I think that it was probably teenagers ... probably old enough to drive a truck," Stalvey's brother, Matt, told Channel 4's Scott Johnson. "I guess just for meanness; I don't know why they would do it."

The sculpture was found in a nearby park Saturday night. The family plans to return it to the cemetery when they find a more permanent way to attach it to the ground.

Glynn County police said they tried to lift fingerprints off the statue, but the surface was too rough to yield good prints. The department said an anonymous donor has posted a $2,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of whoever took the memorial.

"As terrible as it is to vandalize a cemetery, you know, but someone who was killed fighting for our country, you know, and only in ground a couple of months," Matt Stalvey said. "It's just a total lack of respect."

Stalvey's father said he joined the Marines four years ago, just after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

"He wanted to serve his country and keep us free," Billy Stalvey, said.

After graduating from Marine sniper school in Quantico, Va., Cpl. Stalvey had been back in Iraq for about a month when he was killed. He was serving with the 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, his father said.

Ellie

hrscowboy
02-16-06, 03:29 PM
I hope they catch the B*****Ds that done this and burn there arses this just really ****es me off...

Arlene Horton
02-16-06, 09:00 PM
There is no possible reason or excuse for such a nasty deed. That young Marine died honorably for our Country and the animals who did the damage should be given the worst possible sentence the law allows. Then put him in the general population of the prison and see how the other prisoners feel about someone who desecrates a heroic Marine's grave.Rest in peace, Cpl. Stalvey and Semper Fi.