Vallejo Times-Herald
Posted: 11/13/2009 08:51:57 PM PST
Updated: 11/14/2009 05:33:47 PM PST
VALLEJO Area metal thieves have evidently graduated to larger game with the recent snatching of a 1,500-pound cannon from a Vallejo cemetery, officials said.
The Civil War-era Naval Dahlgren cannon was discovered missing last week from its spot near three others in the Sunrise Memorial Cemetery, graveyard operator Buck Kamphausen said. The remaining cannons have since been removed and stored in an undisclosed location.
"They took an A-frame to it to take it out of the ground," Kamphausen said. "They dug around it enough to loosen it from the ground."
This is the second cannon theft Kamphausen knows of in Vallejo in recent years. Another cannon was stolen about 18 months ago from a different cemetery, he said.
Sunrise's cannon memorial is believed to have been erected in 1906 in the burial ground's Spanish-American War section, manager Mark Alexander said.
Veterans of Foreign Wars member Fred Knoll said he was at Sunrise to prepare for Veterans Day when he noticed the cannon had disappeared.
"I always check the rope around the flagpole at the Spanish-American War veterans graves and as I'm looking, I saw one of the four cannons was missing," Knoll said. "I'm upset. We keep having people desecrate memorials."
Three years ago, thieves walked away with numerous bronze plaques honoring Vallejo's fallen soldiers.
The cannon thieves left behind an engine hoist, which they apparently used to pull the
cannon off its pedestal, Alexander said.
"And they used a winch-type device to pull it along the ground near the tree line, under cover of darkness, with cable, chain and the thick, ship's rope that had been part of the display. It appears to have been well thought-out," he added.
A police report will be made once all the facts about the cannon have been gathered, Alexander said.
Kamphausen blames drug addicts and a worsening economy for the metal theft trend, which seems to be growing.
"These are bronze or brass cannons with some scrap metal value," Kamphausen said. "They're also from the Civil War era, so they may be valuable that way. I have no idea where they go."
Acknowledging it's likely a challenge to sell a stolen Civil War cannon, Kamphausen said that where there's a will, there's usually a way, especially in criminal circles.
"Scrap metal dealers are supposed to ask more questions now, take your picture, but they're in business to make money they can melt it down, maybe take it down to Mexico," he said. "It's the economy. This stuff is happening all over. It's unbelievable." Kamphausen said he's having iron fences installed around his facility.
"They do it in good times. They're really going to do it in bad times," he said. "These are desperate acts and I expect a lot more of it. Anyone in business has to be in defense mode. It's a shame."
Many in the mortuary and cemetery business have abandoned using anything metal, Alexander said.
"We've stopped using bronze or brass markers because they can just pry them up," he said. "Mostly, we use granite, and plastic flower vases."
Metal theft has been a problem locally and nationally the past few years. In 2006, Vallejo suffered the theft of bronze plaques honoring the city's 267 or so war dead, from World War II to Desert Storm. Local Veterans of Foreign Wars chapter members have been raising money to replace them ever since, Memorial Restoration Committee chairman Mike Rehmus said.
It's going to cost about $25,000 to replace the monument, and nearly $4,000 has been raised so far, about $1,400 of it at local Veterans Day events Wednesday, he said.
For information on donating, call 643-3696.
