RACINE - When the flag in Lisa Bixler's front yard flaps a certain way, it reminds her of her son Evan, who was killed while serving in Iraq in 2006.

"That's Evan waving," she'll say.

Last week, someone stole the flag off the pole she had installed a couple of months ago, right before Sept. 11. Two other houses on the 3300 block of Wright Avenue had flags swiped the same day.

The empty flagpole was a terrible sight to Bixler when she got home after planning her grandmother's funeral.

"If you can't respect what that stands for, go find a different country," she said.

All three neighbors have ties to the ongoing war. Christopher Cleveland's son is a computer technician in Iraq right now, and Keith Webster has had two nephews in the Persian Gulf with the Navy. They wonder if it was simply a random Halloween prank or if they were specifically targeted.

"Is someone singling us out because we've got the Service Star?" Cleveland said.

The thefts happened during daylight hours Wednesday, the neighbors told police, yet no one so far has reported seeing the thefts. That makes it harder for Bixler to believe it was politically motivated.

"Usually, political people, they want their noise heard," she said.

Whatever the reason, the neighbors are baffled by how carefully the thieves removed the flags.

"They untied every one and lowered them and took them off the clips," Webster said.

Bixler said she's thankful it wasn't one of the many flags people have donated to her over the years. She and Webster quickly put up replacements, and Cleveland is considering buying a locking device to protect his next one.

They're still hoping the others will turn up. Unfortunately, garbage pickup came the day after they went missing.

"If they ditched it in just a regular garbage can, it's gone," Bixler said.

Sgt. Bernie Kupper, spokesman for the Racine Police Department, said further investigation likely wouldn't turn up much. Even if they're found, the flags would be tough to identify as theirs, he said.

The neighbors expected that, Cleveland said, but they wanted to report it on principle.

Video courtesy Channel 12.