FLAG BURNERS

FAIRFIELD, Ohio -- Police arrested and charged two teens in connection with the vandalism of a fallen soldier's memorial Thursday, News 5's Brian Hamrick reported.

Read Channel Cincinnati's account of the vandalism and community reaction.

The boys, 13 and 15 years old, were accused of pulling up 20 American flags from Pfc. Timothy Hines' father-in-law's front yard and setting them on fire under a car in the driveway last Saturday.

Police said the boys admitted their involvement in the fire. They were charged with one count of arson each.

Investigators said the boys were not aware that the flags were displayed as a memorial and they felt remorse for their actions, Hamrick reported.

According to police, the boys also admitted their involvement in other acts of vandalism in the area. For those crimes, they were charged with two counts each of criminal mischief.

The boys were released into the custody of their parents.

..."We feel that this crime was a random act of violence," said Jim Wessel, Hines' father-in-law. "We are confident that the juvenile justice system will handle this in an appropriate manner."

Last Saturday, Fairfield police Chief Mike Dickey said, "What has happened to this family is a tragedy; what occurred this morning is despicable."

He declared, "We will take every step to identify the persons responsible and hold them accountable."

As it turns out, the ones who desecrated the memorial to Timothy Hines were kids. They weren't aware that the flags they burned were displayed in the yard to honor a dead American soldier.

Obviously, if the vandals had known about the soldier's death and they burned the flags with the intent of causing the family even more pain, that would be cruel beyond words.

Nevertheless, just because kids were behind the flag burning that destroyed a car, and not protesters out to make a political statement, doesn't mean the behavior can be taken lightly and written off as "mischief."

There is a serious problem when a 13-year-old and a 15-year-old are out in the middle of the night setting American flags on fire. These boys intended to cause major damage by starting the fire under a car.

Then, after being charged with arson, THEY WERE RELEASED INTO THE CUSTODY OF THEIR PARENTS.

Well, that's reassuring! The parents didn't do a very good job of supervising their sons the night they burned the flags and destroyed the car of a grieving family.

Are the parents going to do a better job of keeping an eye on the little angels now?