‘We will always get back up even stronger’: Plymouth 9/11 memorial vandalized over weekend
Authorities reported finding a statue of a police officer broken at the neck and overturned on the ground Sunday morning.
Just a week after Plymouth Rock was painted red with graffiti, an act that left locals outraged, officials reported having to clean up another act of vandalism — this time at the town’s 9/11 memorial.
A statue of a police officer was found toppled onto the ground, with its head separated from its body, and two nearby lamps were left slanted, knocked off their posts. The statue of a firefighter beside the police officer was left untouched.
More than 25 Plymouth firefighters and officials came out to repair the desecrated memorial on Monday morning.
This morning, a contingent of over 25 Plymouth Fire Local 1768 members were on scene to repair our 9/11 memorial that was desecrated by vandals. They can knock us down, but we will always get back up even stronger. We are firefighters. We never forget. pic.twitter.com/nIpTU8zmm6
— Plymouth Fire L-1768 (@PlymouthFire) February 24, 2020
“They can knock us down, but we will always get back up even stronger,” firefighters wrote in a tweet. “We are firefighters. We never forget.”
Melissa Arrighi, the Plymouth town manager, thanked those who reached out to help repair the “beautiful” memorial in a tweet.
https://twitter.com/MelissaArrighi/status/1231930786200391682
“Plymouth will once again rally against those who vandalize and disrespect public property,” she wrote.
On Feb. 16, Plymouth Rock, which marks the symbolic spot the Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts 400 years ago, was painted with the letters MOF and the numbers 508. Officials said red paint also coated a seashell-shaped sign celebrating the upcoming 400th anniversary of the 1620 Mayflower landing, the Pilgrim Maiden statue, and the National Monument To The Forefathers.
https://twitter.com/MelissaArrighi/status/1229445472382787584
Plymouth Police Chief Michael Botieri told The Boston Globe that police don’t think the two cases are connected at this time, and that they have been searching for surveillance footage since they were notified of the incident Sunday morning.
The memorial was unveiled in 2004 and privately funded by businessman Richard Quintal, who donated the land it sits on.
Arrighi said signs of the vandalism have now been erased, and Triumph Masonry, Restoration & Waterproofing LLC, a local husband-and-wife company, offered to restore the statues while T.L. Edwards, Inc. provided mulch and stone dust to restore the site.
https://twitter.com/MelissaArrighi/status/1232011491211194368
As of now, no arrests have been made in either vandalism case.
Information from the Associated Press was also used in this report.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com