[MSN] Guam. Bronze thieves strip sidewalks

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Bronze thieves strip sidewalks
By Eric Palacios
Pacific Daily News
ejpalacios at guampdn.com <mailto:ejpalacios at guampdn.com>

Thievery continues to plague the island following yesterday's discovery 
of more bronze items missing from their memorials.

Police confirmed yesterday that the Path of Chamorro Tradition "Walk of 
Fame" at Skinner Plaza in Hagåtña was missing 24 of the 26 nameplates 
embedded into the sidewalks.

	

The panels list the names of 13 Chamorro-tradition masters who were 
recognized for their contributions to the island and the preservation of 
various Chamorro traditions -- one plaque for each master on both sides 
of the park. The more-than-$35,000 project was unveiled in 1998, and was 
funded entirely by donations, Pacific Daily News files state.

Also discovered missing yesterday was the bronze storyboard that was 
part of the pedestal of the statue of Don Pedro Martinez at the Sirena 
Plaza in Hagåtña.

Officials from the Guam Police Department yesterday could not say when 
exactly the items might have been stolen.

"These thieves are dishonoring our people," Gov. Felix Camacho told the 
Pacific Daily News yesterday.

Yesterday's discoveries adds to the number of thefts targeting brass or 
bronze items from memorial sites around the island.

Earlier this month, the Asan Bay Overlook federal park was targeted with 
culprits who stole 34 nameplates that bear the names of thousands of 
Chamorros and U.S. servicemen who died or were killed during the 
liberation of Guam.

In May, the Veterans Memorial Wall at the Guam Memorial Park also was 
vandalized. More than 1,000 bronze vases, several headstones and three 
U.S. Armed Forces emblems were pried off the ground or a memorial wall.

Four people have so far been arrested in the separate incidents, and 
local and federal authorities continue to investigate both incidents.


      Disgrace

"It's a disgrace," said a stunned Matt Blas of Mangilao. "These people 
have no regard for those kinds of pieces of history."

Blas' grandfather, Tun Segundo Blas, was a master carver whose plaque 
was among those that were stolen.

Blas said that he praises the governor's decision to remain firm on his 
cease-order of outbound containers, and called on lawmakers to 
strengthen present laws to better address the growing problem.

"The plaques can be replaced but it wouldn't be the same," Blas said. 
"The original plaques should be there for generations to enjoy. It 
should be there forever."


      Shame

The relocation of the statue of Pedro Martinez, an island business icon, 
was completed in the late 1990s. Yesterday, one of the men who was 
instrumental in the project's success expressed dismay over the 
realization.

Peter Alecxis Ada, the Guam Education Policy Board chairman, said it's a 
shame that these incidents keep occurring and to places of historic 
importance.

"The older folks know the significance of the statue being there," 
Alecxis Ada said. "A lot of hard work went into making it possible."

Family members of Pedro Martinez agreed to donate the statue to the 
government.

"That was the original site of Pedro's Cold Storage," Ada said.

Camacho yesterday renewed his administration's commitment to putting an 
end to the rash of thefts.

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