Missing Sign Sparks Soviet Outrage

A street sign honoring Iraq War veterans appears to have been stolen from a Brighton Beach corner, leading residents to point the finger at anti-war activists.

The sign renamed the corner of Corbin Place and Oriental Boulevard as Heroes of Operation Iraqi Freedom Way in 2005. According to the Daily News, residents took it as a “symbol of the contributions to the war effort made by local immigrants from Russia and former Soviet countries.”

The sign vanished in December, and Raisa Chernina, founder of Be Proud Foundation, which lobbied for its installation, claimed unpatriotic critics of the Iraq War stole the sign because it appeared to support President Bush.

“I have no doubt about it, because so many people were against the war,” Chernina told Daily News. “But they mix people fighting the war with the war itself.”

Supporters are rallying at the corner today to demand the sign’s replacement. The Department of Transportation has already said they will install a sign soon.