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Police Search For Margate Memorial Vandal(s)

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MARGATE (CBSMiami) -- Authorities are searching for those responsible for vandalizing a veteran memorial statue in Margate.

What's left of the statue is located at Veteran's Park at 7044 NW 1st Street.

"It's a despicable act," said Army Veteran Jeff Colopy as he examined the damage.

"It's a disgrace to think that someone would do something like that," Army Veteran Doris Stanczyk told CBS4's Lauren Pastrana.

The original statue featured a pair of boots, a replica M16 rifle and a helmet cast in bronze, known as "The Battlefield Cross."

Click here to watch Lauren Pastrana's report. 

"It means so much to me and all of the veterans to come up here and pay tribute to our soldiers and to our fallen soldiers," Colopy said. "When they come by, they salute the flag and go over there and put their hand on the helmet of the fallen soldier."

On Tuesday, maintenance workers discovered the vandalism.

The statue had somehow been cut in half.

"A piece of me was ripped out. One thing that's really close to me is children and veterans. When I found out about this I was just totally upset," said Margate Vice Mayor Tommy Ruzzanno.

Ruzzanno promises the statue will be replaced.

Both Colopy and Stanczyk have a message for the person or people responsible.

"I'd like for you to come down and spend an hour with some of our veterans that have been through hell," Stanczyk said.

"They probably should be put away for a little while and let them think about how they've disgraced the United States," Colopy added.

Vice Mayor Ruzzanno is offering $1,000 of his own money as a reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

If you know who did this, call Margate Police at 954-935-5438 or Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS.

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