Memorial Day Weekend: War Memorial Gets Vandalized and Social Media Is Disgusted

Social media is outraged after a war memorial in Pittsburgh's Lawrenceville neighborhood was [...]

By Allison Schonter

Social media is outraged after a war memorial in Pittsburgh's Lawrenceville neighborhood was vandalized over Memorial Day weekend. Initially erected by Lawrenceville residents in 1921, the statue of the World War I Doughboy was covered in red paint on Memorial Day, with a spray-painted message at the base reading, "June 19, 1986 Glory to the day of heroism." It is unclear what the phrase and symbols on the statue are mean or who may be responsible.

At this time, it remains unclear when precisely the culprit vandalized the statue, though local outlet WPXI reports that onlookers noticed it Monday morning. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that police spokeswoman Cara Cruz said that authorities are reviewing "all available video footage" from the area, and arrangements are currently being made to clean the statue.

In a statement, Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich said that it is "incomprehensible to vandalize this memorial on a day which we honor those who served and gave their lives for the freedoms we enjoy today" and promised that authorities would "vigorously" investigate. Speaking with the Post-Gazette, a Lawrenceville resident who has lived in the neighborhood his entire life, "with the exception of when I was in the service," was appalled, stating, "I have never seen anything like this." Many on social media shared his upset. As images of the vandalized war memorial began to make their rounds on Twitter, dozens of people slammed the culprit. Keep scrolling to see what social media had to say.

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