Vandals Set Flags, Soldier's Family's Car On Fire

WCPO TV ^ | 7/24/2005 | Becky Freemal

[GoBucks2002]

Vandals are compounding the grief of a Tri-state soldier's family.

Not even 24-hours after Private First Class Tim Hines's wife and family said goodbye at his funeral, American flags that had adorned their Fairfield yard were piled beneath a car and burned....

[RedWhiteBlue]

Go ask a teen whether, when he got drunk and there was an appropriate target of opportunity, that he didn't use loose bowels in a less than hygenic manner. It doesn't have anything to do with the media (teens don't read newspapers, watch TV news or discourse on conservative forums - they play gangsta games like GTFA - San Andreas)

I can agree with you about the stupidity of teenagers, and drunk teenagers are even worse. But, in this case, there were apparently no witnesses. The "drunk teenager" theory was just a neighbor's guess, and AFAIK it is no more likely than any other theory.

I can abide by your opinion IF it was proved to be a group of drunken teenagers, but we don't know that to be the case. With the evidence we have now, the perp(s) could easily have been much older and could have a political motivation.

I have heard of a lot of teenage shenanigans, but setting someone's car on fire in their front yard is something I've never come across.

[RedWhiteBlue]

and they did start trouble, didn't they? I hope they are willing to deal with the consequences of their actions when they are caught. IF they are caught. I want to know where the parents of these kids are? I want to know their ages. I want to know what time this was done. I want to know why these kids weren't home minding their own business instead of looking for trouble.

There is no proof this was even done by drunk teenagers. That was just one neighbor's guess, since apparently there were no witnesses. It could just as easily have been a 50 year old member of the anti-war loony left.

**Clarification**: I'm not taking up for drunk teenagers.

[Junior]

Oh, I'm not going to hit them, or beat them in any way. I'm a Chief Petty Officer. I can find something a whole lot more ... imaginitive.

[scott7278]

When you're done with them, make sure you tattoo the American flag to their foreheads.

[FierceDraka]

Oh, I'm not going to hit them, or beat them in any way. I'm a Chief Petty Officer. I can find something a whole lot more ... imaginitive.

Reading your post brought to mind an old-fashioned naval punishment - KEEL-HAULING.

And thank you for your service, Chief.

[Kelly_2000]

even KEEL-HAULING would be too good for these scum

[JLO]

"No doubt, the family is very upset," said Sue Rumley, a neighbor. "They had hoped to spend a quiet day together. After what happened this morning, they say they hope, and believe this was a random act.

The flags, they say, had completley lined their yard.

"The yard was gorgeous. They had flags all the way around the front, from the street up to their porch," said Rumley. "Whoever did this went clear up to their porch and took the flags down."

In the meantime the American Legion and others promised Hines' family they would have new flags by the end of the day.

Hours after the fire a donation of flags arrived at their home.

In no time, family, friends and neighbors lined the yard once again.

"I think that's the most important things, don't give up, do not give up. I really feel that way," said Doris Morris, another neighbor.

[WFTR]

Apparently the neighbors feel that way. They live there, they know the problems. I find it highly dubious that there's rogue band of liberals looking to disgrace the flag and piss on the country. I agree with the neighbor, a bunch of alcoholic kids looking to start trouble.

The other side of that coin is that neighbors want to believe the best about their neighborhood. When you say that the neighbors feel that the incident was just mindless vandalism, are you basing your statement on personal knowledge or is that just the impression that you get from the article? A reporter who wants to slant the story a certain way could be ignoring all the neighbors who have one opinion and slanting towards an opinion that he finds more politically correct. Another possibility is that the neighbors aren't sure what to think and that the reporter read what he wanted into their uncertainty.

I would likewise doubt an organized effort by a large group of liberals to burn flags, but I wouldn't be at all surprised to hear of a few friends getting angry at something that the president has done and taking out their anger on a veteran's family. It's not that they'd have a "master plan" or anything organized, but if they were angry anyway and had a little to drink, their vandalism of choice could be aimed at symbols of patriotism.

Bill

[marty60]

Yes they certainly are a "peaceful" lot aren't they. A-holes.

[Hand em their arse]

But GBU, didn't you know they were just exercising their 1st amendment rights??? Good God, I wish I knew I wouldn't get banned for using the exact language I'd like to right now!!!

[Loud Mime]

I believe we should bring back the pillory. I've said that here several times.

[OKIEDOC]

I hope some good patriotic policemen catches this or these a$$hole's and does not arrest them.

Instead the police would take them out behind in an alley and teach them some respect for the flag and the grief of a soldiers death.

If they were able to walk and talk after the attitude adjustment then arrest them for insurance purposes.

I will bet my last donut that these guys are probably good supporters of the ACLU, PETA and Moveon.org crowd.

No one would do this unless they were raised with the morals of a cur dog. Aka Democratic leadership HowWeird Deaniac

[middie]

Let me see if I've got this straight: The American Legion is suing the ACLU for ????? what???? Perhaps a declaratory judgment that the Legion is a better organization? Or that the ACLU should be preemptied from suing to do something the Legion anticipates the ACLU has threatened to do? The scenario you allude to doesn't make any sense. Moreover, I can guarantee that if any judge's spouse is a counsel of record in a case before the court, that judge is going to recuse himself/herself without a suggestion by either party.

Every court has internal rules that mandate such a recusal. Anyone who told you differently is either purposefully or otherwise handing out misinformation.

[OKIEDOC]

I believe those damn peace nicks would wished they were girl scouts had this happened down here in Southwest Texas.

Damn why didn't the Okies stop this crap.

I haven't met many Okies who were not fanatically patriotic.

This really hurts my feelings that these turds were not given a massive attitude adjustment before being sent home.

[Trimegistus]

Is there a mosque in the neighborhood? Just asking.

[Zacs Mom]

" I find it far more likely that it was a couple of drunk kids doing something stupid, than to say that a couple of Moveon types hunted down the address and drove over there."

I guess maybe you're not familiar with a guy called Fred Phelps and his followers who make it a point to target the funerals and grieving families of KIA soldier ~ here is a glimpse of some of their activities: Hate group plans funeral protest

[armymarinemom]

Oh this is just way too much. I hope they catch the animals that did this.

[MizSterious]

Litany found this article:

http://www.wibw.com/home/headlines/1729882.html

Soldier Funeral

AP

A Fort Riley soldier was buried this weekend at home in Oklahoma.

Army Specialist Jared Hartley, of Newkirk, Oklahoma, died in Iraq July 15th when a bomb detonated near his vehicle.

About 12 anti-war protesters from Fred Phelps' Westboro Church in Topeka, Kansas, stood across the street from the church yesterday as friends and family members gathered for Hartley's funeral.

Newkirk residents living nearby responded by displaying flags in their lawns.

Hartley was assigned to the 125th Forward Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, at Fort Riley.

---

I, too, wish someone had roughed them up a bit.

[OKIEDOC]

Archangelsk wrote:
But then again, knee-jerk reactions are not just the domain of liberals.

Sounds like an elitists nitpicker know-it-all reply to a first reaction.

But then again I may be having a bad case of Knew-a-jerk.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Whenever you see somethng like this happen, look around very carefully, chances are that the perp (or perps) is watching the fire.