The Tuscaloosa County Park and Recreation Authority and the Alabama Marines Foundation are offering a $1,500 reward for information about the vandalism of Battle Cross at Veterans Memorial Park in Tuscaloosa last month.

As the Thread previously reported, in early February, PARA staff found that someone had damaged or destroyed several of the icons that memorialize fallen American servicemen and women.

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The simple shrines consist of a rifle standing vertically between two combat boots and topped with a soldier's helmet, and the park in front of the University Mall on McFarland Boulevard featured six Battle Crosses, one for every major armed conflict the United States has participated in since World War I.

Vandals damaged one of the memorials and destroyed another last month, perhaps hoping to steal a functional rifle, but the weapons in the Battle Crosses are harmless replicas, a PARA spokesperson said.

Now, a month later, PARA and the Marines are working together to offer $1,500 for information that leads to the arrest of the person or people responsible for the vandalism.

Anyone with information that can help find the investigation is asked to contact TPD’s Criminal Investigations Division at 205-248-4520.

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