MANITOWOC (NBC 26) — Vandals damaged Manitowoc's newest war memorial Tuesday morning, just months after the project was completed following 10 years of planning and fundraising.
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The vandals picked up bricks from the memorial and smashed them just a few feet away on a concrete slab. The memorial was completed this spring after a decade-long effort.
"A couple weeks ago I went before council and said mission complete...it was a mission I couldn't walk away from," Ed Hansen said.
Hansen, a retired command sergeant major with the Wisconsin National Guard's 32nd Red Arrow Division, started the project. He said he walks the park every morning to check up on the memorials.
On Tuesday morning, he discovered the damage.
"I'm walking and saw the bricks over there and I'm going, 'God I hope they didn't smash anything else,'" Hansen said.
Police say the damage totals about $100, but Crime Prevention Officer Paul Krock says the consequences could go beyond that financial cost.
"Obviously what the park signifies ... it's not your run of the mill vandalism. It involved a memorial for those that served our country," Krock said. "It could be a court referral or a citation depending on which direction the investigation goes ... it would be law enforcement consequences."
For Hansen, the act is heartbreaking.
"It's just disappointing someone would come to a park with a memorial to men and women that served this country (and damage it," Hansen said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Manitowoc Police or submit a tip through Crime Stoppers or the P3 Tips app.
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