Military flags removed as organizers plan repairs and improved security following incident
On Saturday night, Feb. 14, less than two weeks after the new Patriot’s Pier flagpoles were dedicated on Feb. 3, they were vandalized and broken. The following morning, when Wayne Bundy, who manages the daily military flag services at Patriot’s Pier, arrived at the beach, he found two broken flagpoles on the sand along with the flags. Bundy believes individuals may have tried to climb the poles and, under their weight, the poles broke. Bundy said no video was available from the night in question to show how the flagpoles were damaged. “Why would anyone do this? I have no idea,” he said as he looked at the damaged pier.
Bundy reported the incident on the Patriot Pier Facebook page, alerting nearly 6,000 followers about the damage. He wrote: “Last night somebody went down and snapped off two of the new flagpoles. I don’t know what this world is coming to. It just breaks my heart.” Commenting on the destruction, Mike Cosentino, who owns the Patriot’s Pier property, said, “The vandalism has certainly put a hitch in our giddy up. Wayne and others are taking a pause until we can implement more of a vandal-proof system. It’s in the works.”
Siesta Key resident Thomas Modly, former acting secretary of the U.S. Navy, funded the purchase of the new flagpoles through proceeds from his 2023 memoir, “Vectors — Heroes, Villains, and Heartbreak on the Bridge of the U.S. Navy.” Modly oversaw the project, which became a team effort uniting Siesta Key and Sarasota veterans who worked to improve and renovate the landmark. The cost of drilling and concrete was covered by the nonprofit veterans organization SRQ VETS. Andy Bass of Charles Construction Company and workers from KingzCrete Construction completed the restoration efforts, which included significant upgrades to the pier and the flag stands…