BENNINGTON, Vt. (NEWS10) – A Bennington woman was stripped of an American flag she flew to honor her deceased son.

An empty bracket on Grove Street in Bennington, that’s what 84-year-old Mary Garren woke up to on Saturday morning.

“I thought, ‘my God, my flag is gone!’ I couldn’t believe it. I was shocked.”

Mary’s son, Tom, served in the U.S. Army for eight years. In 1997, he passed away in a motorcycle crash when he was 39 years old.

She keeps the American flag presented at his funeral inside, framed, and on display.

“The loss of a child is hardest to take.”

Outside, Mary flew the American flag to honor Tom’s life. She is now in disbelief that someone would have taken it.

“I would like to meet them. I would like to talk to them and I would like for them to know what that [flag] meant to me and what [taking] it has done to me.”

Because what it has been done has reminded Mary of what she cannot replace.

“I can replace that flag, but it’s the principle of the thing. I wish I could bring Tom back as easy as I could go out and buy another flag.”

Mary hopes whoever is responsible will come forward and asks anyone with information to reach out.

She is determined to have that flag hanging in her son’s memory again.