Vandals strike Blue Star Memorial

No community is immune to senseless vandalism, as this one learned this week.
After a couple years of saving and looking for the right restoration contractor, the Bayou Vista Garden Club had its Blue Star Memorial refurbished two weeks ago.
Then, sometime in the lead up to Memorial Day, someone apparently vandalized the marker designed to honor service men and women in the United States armed forces.
Traci Landry, St. Mary Sheriff’s spokeswoman, said the memorial was last seen intact on May 21 and was discovered on the ground Saturday.
There was no damage to the bushes surrounding the marker, leading police to believe it was vandalized, rather than hit with a car, Landry said.
Donna Bucci, club president, said restoration cost the club $750 to remove the pits and marks from years of wear. It’s a fee the club will have to pay again.
“The Bayou Vista Garden Club is greatly saddened by the destruction of our newly refurbished Blue Star Memorial Marker,” said Bucci.
The marker originally was installed in 1998, purchased through National Garden Clubs Inc. with money from fundraisers by the Bayou Vista Garden Club along with donations from the Carr Roberson American Legion Post 589 and the W.L. Bernauer Jr. American Legion Post 242.