Mount Pleasant Police still are searching for vandals who stole part of the Iraqi Freedom Memorial in Island Park.

MPPD Inspector Tom Forsberg said the department has two officers working full time on the investigation and local salvage yards have been notified in case the metal was taken for its resale value.

“There’s been a lot of reaction around the community that I would describe as outrage,” Forsberg said.

A solid bronze rifle and helmet from the memorial in Island Park, 331 N. Main St., were stolen between Saturday and Tuesday. A pair of bronze boots remain.

The memorial was set up to honor the men and women who lost their lives in the war on terrorism, and was donated in memory of Lance Cpl. Justin M. Ellsworth.

The gun is a full-size M16, and the helmet is a full-size ballistic helmet, which weigh approximately 50 to 60 pounds and are worth more than $7,000, said Information Officer Dave Sabuda.

“They would have had to have broken the weld of the cement pedestal,” he said.

The vandalism of the memorial has left Ellsworth’s family stunned.

“My son made the ultimate sacrifice for his country when he gave his life in Iraq in 2004. The people of Mount Pleasant, Michigan honored my son by collecting funds to erect a monument to honor his life and support our family,” said Ellsworth’s father, John Ellsworth, in a written statement. “The thieves who conducted this senseless act have taken an honorable and elegant monument to my son and made it a focal point of their hatred and destruction.”

Police believe the vandalism occurred sometime between Saturday and Tuesday afternoon, and the incident remains under investigation.

He said the MPPD has received a lot of calls from local residents offering reward money for information about the theft.

Forsberg said he could not release any information about suspects at this time.

Ellsworth was 20 years old when he was killed in combat serving in Iraq on Nov. 13, 2004. John Ellsworth is the president of Military Families United, an advocacy organization that has recently been vocal in opposing President Obama’s plans for Guantanamo Bay and the handling of the “war on terror.”

According to Military Families United, the memorial was vandalized once before in 2005, when the flagpole was torn down and a flag was burned on top of the boots, rifle and helmet.

“This terrible vandalism not only dishonors Justin Ellsworth, but every veteran and all of our fallen heroes who gave their lives defending our country,” said Families United Executive Director Brian Wise in a written statement. “We sincerely hope that this was not a purposeful act of political activism or against our troops.”

The MPPD asks anyone with information to call the department at 779-5100 or the anonymous TIP Line at 779-9111.

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E-mail the author: Lindsay Knake