You are here

Vietnam Veterans Memorial Vandalized

Share
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Vandalism; NPS photo by Terry Adams.

Dark splotches reveal the damage done to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial by a vandal with an unknown type of oil. NPS photo by Terry Adams.

Earlier this month, on September 7th, someone walked along the Vietnam Veterans Memorial with some type of oil, squirting it secretly on the Wall as they walked by. The unknown oil has done real damage to the polished granite surface. The Park Service is now carefully trying to fix the damage. Restoration is moving slowly in order to prevent forcing the oil deeper into the cracks and pores of the stone. The damage appears as dark splotches that are particularly visible on the unpolished stone.

The National Park Service is calling this an act of vandalism, not an accident. US Park Police have been reviewing their security video of the evening for clues. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, which built the Wall, offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case.

As with anything in this modern information age, someone has grabbed their video camera and documented the damage for the world to see, viewable on YouTube. Here it is, notice the park clean up already in progress.

In November, the Wall will be 25 years old -- four years older than Maya Lin was when her design for the memorial was selected as the winner while she was still an undergraduate in college.

Read More:

Washington Post - Oily Substance on Wall Was Vandalism, Not Accident, Police Say

HumanEvents.com - Damaged Vietnam Memorial Has Park Service Walking on Eggshells

More Photographs - Damage to the Wall

Comments

this is horrible...


Add comment

CAPTCHA

This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.