Memorial for second world war vandalized with bubbles and graffiti in Washington
Interior department calls incident ‘disgusting’ after area filled with bubbles and paint reading ‘Clean hands Dirty $’
US Park Police are investigating who graffitied the words “Clean hands dirty $” in red paint on the memorial on Washington DC’s National Mall for the second world war and vandalized the fountain with soapy bubbles
The US interior department said: “The public should know we will find the person responsible for this disgusting act” and the non-profit Friends of the National World War II Memorial said the site should not be used for political expression
“There are many places in our country for expression, debate and disagreement,” a statement from the organization said. “A national memorial honoring those who served and those who never returned home should never be used as a canvas for vandalism.”
The Veterans of Foreign Wars military service organization said the vandalism was “an act of profound disrespect”
The memorial sits close to the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, which has been the site of controversy in recent months. A contentious upgrade effort ordered by Donald Trump ahead of Fourth of July celebrations for the 250th anniversary of the founding of the US became mired in dispute after new surfacing separated and algae returned
Trump blamed vandals for damage to the pool lining, though prosecutions of individuals alleged to have contributed to the problems have since collapsed, including a high-profile case involving David Hearn, the US Olympian
In early June vandals etched “8647” – a numeric signal of opposition to Trump – on the National Memorial lawn. Davis Ingle, a White House spokesperson, said: “Anyone who engages in or endorses political violence or assassination culture must be condemned in the harshest terms possible.”
Leanna Townsend, a visitor to Washington DC from Florida this week, told the Washington Post upon seeing the clouds of bubbles frothing out of the pool at the second world war memorial that they seemed “a little bit juvenile and funny” but described the spray-paint as disrespectful
“I just find it to be in complete distaste, especially for the people that it’s here to honor,” she said. “Shame on the person who thought that’s appropriate. It’s not.”
Sonja Weekley, visiting from Alabama, said the bubbles and spray-paint were “ridiculous and very disrespectful” – her grandparents and father-in-law had fought in the second world war, she told the outlet. “This is not political,” she said. “This is for the men and women who fought for us to be free.”
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