Tahoma National Cemetery workers found a sad and shocking sight Monday morning.

Bronze plaques commemorating veterans were stolen from their granite stands at Tahoma National Cemetery along the Francis W. Agnes Memorial walkway.

James Trimbo, director of the cemetery, said the theft was discovered Monday morning, Nov. 29, and he expects the plaques were ripped off of the granite stands sometime over the weekend.

Trimbo said 11 were taken and three were damaged. The director estimated the replacement cost to be about $30,000.

“It’s horrible,” Trimbo said. “It is horrendous. It is the desecration of a national monument.”

Trimbo said he expects the plaques were taken to be sold as scrap.

The Tahoma National Cemetery Support Group has offered a $5,000 reward for information on the theft.

Trimbo said a King County Sheriff’s Office detective is investigating the crime.

The theft of the plaques was the only damage done to the cemetery. Trimbo said no headstones or grave sites were damaged.

Trimbo said he personally will be working with the government to replace the plaques and at sometime in the future donations may be accepted.

The plaques commemorated the men and woman who served the country in the military.

One of the plaques still in place was from the Puget Sound Chapter of The Military Order of World Wars. An inscription on the plaque states, “It is nobler to serve than to be served.”