Local News

Flags honoring Purple Heart recipient torn down repeatedly on Cape Cod, police say

Authorities are asking anyone with information about the vandalism at the Lance Corporal William Joseph Donovan Jr. Memorial Bridge to come forward.

American flags placed in honor of a Yarmouth Purple Heart recipient were vandalized twice, police said. Yarmouth Police Department

By Dialynn Dwyer

August 26, 2025

1 minute to read

Authorities are investigating the repeated vandalism of flags honoring a Purple Heart recipient on Cape Cod.

Yarmouth police were called early Monday morning to the Lance Corporal William Joseph Donovan Jr. Memorial Bridge, responding to reports that several American flags on the bridge had been destroyed, police said. At the scene, officers found eight American flags ripped from the fencing on the West Yarmouth Road bridge.

“Their grommets had been torn out, and at least three flags were ripped apart at the seams,” police said.

Donovan’s father installed the flags on Friday, according to police, after they were vandalized in July.

William Joseph Donovan Jr. served in the Marines and was wounded during his deployment to Afghanistan, according to the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor. According to WCVB, he died in 2015 in a motorcycle crash while riding with the Massachusetts Fallen Heroes Riders. The bridge was dedicated to the 27-year-old in 2018, according to the station.

Yarmouth police are asking anyone with information about the incidents to contact the department.