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Vandals deface veterans memorial
By JAMES HALPIN
jhalpin@adn.com
Vandals dumped red paint on a downtown veterans memorial Wednesday morning in what police suspect was a symbolic act of protest on the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
Passers-by spotted the blood-toned paint on the Anchorage Veterans Memorial, in the Delaney Park Strip off I Street, during the morning commute and reported it to police. The defaced soldier's helmet was soaked in red, with the paint dripping down to the ground below.
"There's a movement across the country, since it's the fifth anniversary of the war, to protest," police Lt. Paul Honeman said.
Police are investigating the vandalism as a crime, and the responsible party could be facing charges of malicious destruction of property or felony criminal mischief, depending on cleanup costs, he said.
"You have the right to express your opinion, but not if it destroys other people's property," Honeman said.
The statue was cleaned off by early afternoon, with only a hint of a reddish hue staining the green metal shaped into a World War II soldier holding a carbine. The blood-colored paint still stained the snow beneath a placard that is part of the monument: "To those Alaska veterans whose eyes have seen what the protected will never know."
By Wednesday evening, wreaths and flowers lined the statue as a group of about 40 military supporters converged to pledge allegiance to the flag and speak out, sometimes tearfully, against the defacement. A line of flag-bearers stood at parade rest as a backdrop, American and POW/MIA flags hanging from their poles.
"Shame on them," said Jerry Ward, a former state senator and chairman of the Alaska Native Vietnam Veterans. "I'm proud to be an American and I'm ashamed of these cowardly people that have done this."
I equate this to burning a flag, I hope the douche bags are caught.
Vandals deface veterans memorial
By JAMES HALPIN
jhalpin@adn.com
Vandals dumped red paint on a downtown veterans memorial Wednesday morning in what police suspect was a symbolic act of protest on the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
Passers-by spotted the blood-toned paint on the Anchorage Veterans Memorial, in the Delaney Park Strip off I Street, during the morning commute and reported it to police. The defaced soldier's helmet was soaked in red, with the paint dripping down to the ground below.
"There's a movement across the country, since it's the fifth anniversary of the war, to protest," police Lt. Paul Honeman said.
Police are investigating the vandalism as a crime, and the responsible party could be facing charges of malicious destruction of property or felony criminal mischief, depending on cleanup costs, he said.
"You have the right to express your opinion, but not if it destroys other people's property," Honeman said.
The statue was cleaned off by early afternoon, with only a hint of a reddish hue staining the green metal shaped into a World War II soldier holding a carbine. The blood-colored paint still stained the snow beneath a placard that is part of the monument: "To those Alaska veterans whose eyes have seen what the protected will never know."
By Wednesday evening, wreaths and flowers lined the statue as a group of about 40 military supporters converged to pledge allegiance to the flag and speak out, sometimes tearfully, against the defacement. A line of flag-bearers stood at parade rest as a backdrop, American and POW/MIA flags hanging from their poles.
"Shame on them," said Jerry Ward, a former state senator and chairman of the Alaska Native Vietnam Veterans. "I'm proud to be an American and I'm ashamed of these cowardly people that have done this."
I equate this to burning a flag, I hope the douche bags are caught.