For what it's worth, most of the vandalism I've seen in country cemeteries has been the result of morons driving their trucks or ATVs through and generally trashing the place. I've personally seen very few examples of grave markers actually being knocked over or broken, but every so often an incident is reported in the paper. I don't know what kind of person(s) would do that.

You can learn a lot about an area by walking through a graveyard and reading the inscriptions. If you ever get a chance, visit the old cemetery at Washington State Park, in Hempstead County, Arkansas. Some of the graves date from the 1840's. What is so moving about the place is to read name after name of children who died -- apparently of an outbreak of disease -- in a fairly short period of time. I can't imagine the grief that must have surrounded the town in that awful year.