Reward Offered in Memorial Vandalism

WASHINGTON — Decrying the first incident of vandalism of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the private group that built the monument here posted a $1,000 reward Tuesday for information on the crime as veterans condemned the defacement of a site they hold sacred.

“This is a desecration of something very dear to our hearts, something that we fought so hard to realize,” said veteran David Pye of Massachusetts as he visited the monument and examined the faint marks scratched into its hard surface.

The vandalism, noticed by a visitor, was reported to National Park Service officials Monday. Several thin lines ranging from a few inches to about a foot were scratched across the black granite panels at the center of the 493-foot-long wall, which carries the engraved names of servicemen killed in the war.

Repair to Cost Thousands

Park Service officials who examined the damage Tuesday said repairs would be made soon, and a representative of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, which raised the money to erect the monument, estimated the cost at several thousand dollars.

The memorial, erected at a cost of $11 million in a hollow on Washington’s National Mall, was highly controversial when it was unveiled in 1982 because of its unusual design--a long, stone wall bearing more than 56,000 names--in contrast to the traditional statue many had expected.

Since then, however, it has been widely accepted by Vietnam veterans and others as a compelling symbol of the divisive conflict. No vandalism had ever occurred at the site, which draws up to 15,000 visitors a day, virtually around the clock, to trace the engraved names of friends who died or to place flowers at its base.

A Park Service spokesman said defacement is rare at any of the major monuments on the mall, although last year vandals pulled several bronze letters off an inscription on the Jefferson Memorial.

Guard Patrols Urged

However, some veterans groups called Tuesday for the government to post round-the-clock security at the historic sites to avoid further damage. Guards now patrol only periodically at night.

“The blessing in disguise in all of this is that it points to the need for better security at all the memorials,” said John Wheeler, chairman of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. “. . . . I see a need for congressional leadership to guard these treasures.” He said he hopes the $1,000 reward will help locate the vandal or vandals, but was not optimistic.

Sandra Alley, a Park Service spokeswoman, said security would be stepped up for the next several days around the Vietnam memorial because sometimes “graffiti begets graffiti.”

The barely visible scratches in the highly polished surface, apparently made with a knife or other sharp object, went unnoticed by many visitors Tuesday, but veterans visiting it expressed sadness and anger.

‘He’ll Be Terminated’

“If I ever get my hands on the guy that did it . . . well, God help him. He’ll be terminated with extreme prejudice,” said retired Army Sgt. Maj. Chuck Eatley.

“People have begun to treat (the Vietnam memorial) like a child,” Wheeler said. “This has become a sacred place for us. And to have something like this happen--well, if this were destroyed, what would we have?”

Pye, who runs a veterans’ outreach program, said: “It’s ironic that someone would want to scar the one thing that belongs to a group already so badly scarred. This wall has been such a major step in our healing process, and this (vandalism) affects us all.”