Morgan Hill police are investigating the burning of an American flag and the defacing of a plaque at the city’s Veterans Memorial — an incident that drew an outpouring of anger and support to restore it as word quickly spread of the vandalism.
The vandalism was discovered Sunday and is suspected to have occurred early that morning, according to Morgan Hill Mayor Mark Turner.
“Heartbreaking. Especially for those of us who have family who have died in the military,” said Lynne Meyer in a Facebook comment.
Some placed flowers on the monument or offered to donate to help restore the memorial.
After hearing about the vandalism, Turner went out and took down what was left of the burnt flag and replaced it with a flag he had on hand.
“We just wanted to get a flag flying quickly to be a victory over the disrespect shown to the American flag and the Veterans Memorial,” said Turner. “That’s the greater message: that people relayed and we were not going to let that be the final statement in our community. We have to stand against that kind of hate.”
Eddie Bowers, a Vietnam War veteran, built the memorial 33 years ago and has been celebrating ceremonies on Memorial and Veterans day every year since. After learning of the vandalism, Bowers cleaned up the plaque — which listed names of Morgan Hill veterans who had lost their lives — and raised a new flag on Monday morning. Except for some damage to the cable that lifts the flag, he restored the memorial to its previous state, though he said that he had never seen this kind of vandalism before in the history of the memorial.
“It’s just a shame that people do that,” he said. “All you can do is move forward … If you don’t do that it’ll drive you nuts.”
Morgan Hill Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The remnants of the burnt American flag at the Morgan Hill Veterans Memorial on Sunday June 2. (Troy Billett)
The remnants of the burnt American flag at the Morgan Hill Veterans Memorial on Sunday June 2. (Troy Billett)
