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An American flag that was flying outside of American Legion Post 139 in Virginia Square was apparently stolen earlier this morning.

Sharon Walker, the club manager at the post at 3445 Washington Blvd, said she noticed the flag was gone when she went to check on a mural currently being painted on the side of the building. The POW flag, which flies below the American flag, was lying on the ground and the rope that held the American flag was torn she said.

She first thought that someone had saw it on the ground and picked it up, but that didn’t quite add up, she said.

“If someone had picked it up, they’d also pick up the POW flag,” Walker said.

She asked neighbors if they saw a person take the flag, but so far no one has seen anything, she said. This is the first time in her 31 years at Post 139 that someone has stolen the flag.

A mural of an American flag is currently being painted on the side of the building, and artist Scott LoBaido said there is something ironic about the situation — that the flag was stolen while he was painting the huge mural.

“It just broke my heart,” he said. “It just broke my spirit.”

LoBaido is currently on a mission to paint an American flag on a VFW or American Legion post in every state. The Arlington American Legion is the last stop on his 50-state tour and this is the first time someone stole a flag while he was painting a mural.

“It’s the last one I’m doing. It’s Arlington, Virginia. It’s the Arlington National Cemetery,” he said. “That’s what it is all about.”

LoBaido filed a police report online, but he hasn’t heard back from the Arlington County Police Department. He said he hopes one of the buildings nearby has camera footage of the person stealing the flag. He checked in with the building across the street, but it did not have cameras.

“I consider it a hate crime,” he said. “It’s vandalism. It’s against the law.”

Desecrating the flag from an American Legion post doesn’t make a political statement, he said, it only hurts the service members who fight for it.

“You don’t desecrate the flag because you’re hurting the men and women who gave you the right to protest,” he said.

He urges anyone who saw something to call police. If the thief is caught, LoBaido says he knows the perfect punishment: the person should spend a week doing community service at a local VA Hospital to see the type of sacrifices military personnel make for the flag.

“The irony is here we are at Arlington. The Arlington National Cemetery is down the street,” he said.

A flag will “absolutely” fly tomorrow at the American Legion, Walker said, but she was not sure how much it would cost to replace it.