Philadelphia’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial needs over $15,000 in repairs after being struck by vandals

Caretakers of Philadelphia’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial are fundraising to cover upward of $15,000 in damage after vandals reportedly stole and damaged dozens of lights and brass fixtures this week.

Erected in 1987 at Front and Spruce Streets in Society Hill, the memorial features the engraved names of 648 fallen soldiers on a marble wall.

“I’m not feeling the most Christian of feelings about all of this. [The vandals] are scumbags,” said Michael Daily, a Vietnam veteran and the executive director of the memorial site. “How could you desecrate something like this?”

An employee of Owner’s Rep — the contractor that maintains the memorial — discovered the vandalism Wednesday when he was repairing an audio-visual equipment container that appeared to have been tampered with, according to Owner’s Rep President Jim Curry.

Curry filed a police report Wednesday saying that someone stole seven aluminum light covers, 23 cast iron bronze skate stoppers shaped like stars, and 19 brass light trim covers, according to the Philadelphia Police Department.

The repairs will cost $15,000 to $20,000, said Curry, and the volunteer organization has begun soliciting donations to cover the costs, according to a Facebook post.

“It just seems that for every two steps forward we take, these thugs and miscreants set us back three steps,” Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial president Terry Williamson is quoted saying in the post.

Philadelphia police said Owner’s Rep is locating surveillance camera footage. That could take “hours upon hours” because of uncertainty over when the vandalism occurred, said Curry.

The damage will also set other memorial improvement projects back at least four to eight months, Curry said. Owner’s Rep was in the process of repairing the sidewalk and upgrading security cameras, as well as refurbishing some lights.

“We’re scrambling right now,” said Curry. The damage has caused unsafe, exposed wiring conditions that they’re trying to fix immediately.

For Curry, the damage feels personal: Curry’s brother was part of the military police force stationed in Saigon during the war.

“I dedicate my work to him,” Curry said of his brother. “This is disheartening.”

Daily said the situation reminds him of the last time the memorial faced a significant vandalism incident. It was in 1988, shortly after the memorial was dedicated, when vandals attempted to strip the wall of its brass fixtures.

The memorial used to incur regular vandalism, but Daily and Curry say incidents slowed down significantly after security camera footage could be streamed from the internet and the site was rededicated and expanded in 2015.