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Cannonball stolen from veteran's grave
Cannonball stolen from fallen Marine's graveDate published: 7/1/2009 Every day is tough for those who miss Josh Frazier, a Spotsylvania County Marine killed by sniper fire in Iraq on Feb. 6, 2007. On birthdays and holidays, they are keenly aware of his absence. But this year, June 28, when Josh would have turned 27, was especially painful. When Rick Frazier arrived at his son's King George grave site at about 7:30 that morning, he found a Civil War cannonball missing from Josh's headstone. "It breaks my heart," Frazier said. "I can't believe someone would be common enough to come in to a cemetery and steal anything--I don't care if it's a plastic flower. But to steal something off the grave site of a patriotic man or woman, that's the lowest of the low." Josh's mother, Shelia Cutshall, was at the grave site at Montague Baptist Church on Millbank Road last Wednesday, and nothing was amiss. "That somebody would desecrate an American hero's permanent resting place is beyond belief," she said. "To discover it missing on his birthday only added more pain to what we were already feeling." Josh, whose family has a tradition of military service dating to the Civil War, asked that if anything happened to him, a cannonball be included on his headstone. "It was what he wanted," Cutshall said. "It was a specific request he made, and he had very few requests." It was so important to the family that when they were designing the very personalized headstone, they brought the cannonball with them and had the carvers create an indentation in the base where it could sit. Getting the cannonball wasn't easy. Frazier approached Blane Piper, who manages Lee's Headquarters, The Civil War Store, on Deadman's Curve in Fredericksburg. Piper didn't have a cannonball at the time, but found one and presented it as a gift at an organizational meeting for the first Frazier-Mason Some Gave All memorial motorcycle ride. "I just wanted to do something for them," Piper said, "to thank them for their son." The cannonball is a locally recovered, 12-pound solid shot, which would have been fired from a Napoleon cannon, "the backbone of both armies' artillery," Piper said. Frazier put polyurethane on the cannonball to protect it from the weather, and used epoxy to securely fasten it to the divot in the headstone. Someone had to have pried it from the base. "I hope it was some kind of prank, but there is no humor in it," Cutshall said. "This was something that's precious to our family." They don't want to press charges, or even know who took the relic, they just want it back. They're hoping the cannonball will be returned to the grave site anonymously. Members of the family are there at least once a week. "It's no good to nobody else," Frazier said. "You're not going to take it home and set it on your mantel. You're not going to ride it around in your car. It's just a piece of iron to someone else. "But it means a lot to me, and it meant a lot to Josh." Laura L. Hutchison:
Date published: 7/1/2009
Replacing the Tribute
(posted by
AJaxn
, July 1, 2009 2:34 pm)
Most likely the thief was motivated by greed and does intend to sale the tribute to our fallen Marine. It is a very sad but true fact that graves have been robbed since the first one was dug. It may be wise to honor your Marine's request by replacing the cannonball but at the same time ruin its value as a collectable by engraving your Marines name and personal information deeply in the surface. I am very sorry this happened to a family that has sacrificed so much already.
I have a feeling
(posted by
karma
, July 1, 2009 2:33 pm)
I have an inkling that this theft is the work of some teenagers who truly do not understand the meaning of "desecration" and do not understand the pain that they have caused the family. This does not excuse their actions; rather, it is an attempt at explaining this hurtful action. I think it is important that any family with teenagers within walking distance of this cemetary talk to their kids about this incident. Maybe one of the kids will remember his conscience and return the cannon ball.
Common is exactly right!
(posted by
Nya_nyas
, July 1, 2009 11:41 am)
Josh's dad was right when he said this loser is common! Someone obviously doesn't appreciate the freedoms given to them by soldiers like Josh who gave their lives for our country. I would put money on the fact that is was a collector and not a kid. I hope that by publicizing this story potential buyers and others will recognize this item and report it. I hope this person realizes that in some countries when you steal, you get your hands chopped off!
"Juvenille" is a mental/emotional description
(posted by
Einstein
, July 1, 2009 11:17 am)
not an age description. And it would be a trait of an individual who would to steal a cannonball from a gravestone of a fallen soldier
Not an isolated incident
(posted by
theobc
, July 1, 2009 11:15 am)
My family is buried in Historyland Memorial Park in King George & this sort of thing happens there all the time. I can not tell you how many times flowers & ornaments have been stolen from the graves of my mother & grandmother. What kind of creature would steal from the dead? I say creature because this is not human (or humane) behavior. If these people think they are not hurting anyone by doing this - they are very sadly mistakened. I wonder how they would feel if someone did the same to their loved one.
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