Willamette National Cemetery Vandalized
Willamette National Cemetery is in the Portland, Oregon area. It currently has 133,174 Veterans interred. Among these are four Medal of Honor winners – Lieutenant Colonel Stanley T. Adams (Korea) U.S. Army, 1st Platoon, Company A, 1st Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. Sesim-ni, Korea, Feb. 4, 1951, First Lieutenant Arnold L. Bjorklund (World War II) U.S. Army, 142nd Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division, Altavilla, Italy, Sept. 13, 1943, Specialist 4th Class Larry G. Dahl (Vietnam) U.S. Army, 359th Transportation Company, 27th Transportation Battalion, U.S. Support Command, An Khe, Binh Dinh Province, Republic of Vietnam, Feb. 23, 1971, Sergeant 1st Class Loren R. Kaufman (Korea) U.S. Army, Company G, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, Yongsan, Korea, Sept. 4 & 5, 1950. Also interred is a young man from our town, LCpl Randy Newman, a Marine who lost his life in Iraq in 2006, along with many other Oregonians who have fallen in the Great War on Terror.
This beautiful place has suddenly become yet another Military Cemetery defiled by the the greedy and the disrespectful. Recently and on three different occassions, vandals, called ‘metal thieves’ by law enforcement, went into the cemetery and stripped the copper gutters, downspouts and roofing from the shelters used during burials. Additionally, brass name plates and metal urns have been stolen.
When I heard about this I was outraged. When I began to research this I was shocked to find most cemeteries are being vandalized in this way, including our National Cemeteries.
Most metal recyclers are ‘unaware’ that these items are being purchased by them, though they do identify them and contact the police on occassion.
In addition to our cemeteries, our history is being stolen and sold. Recently the Bronze statue of Sacagawea was stolen from the end of the Lewis and Clark trail, destroyed by being cut up and sold as scrap. Historical markers are being stolen. The marker to honor Rex T Barber, the man who shot down Admiral Yamamoto, was stolen.
What has happened to our country that these sacred things are treated like trash?
October 1st, 2008 at 1:10 pm
I’d like to give them some copper, in the form of a copper-jacketed 7.62mm round.
Our nation’s morality has been under attack from the media, academia, and the left-wing elite for decades, and here’s some of the result.
October 1st, 2008 at 5:21 pm
Many people are without any sense of honor at all. This is even hailed by those on the far left.
Sickeening, just sickening!
Lets give the guys at Arlington live ammunition for a while and authorize shoot to kill order on vandals and see how quick this stops.
October 5th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
I second the motion of giving the Arlington guards live ammo and orders to shoot vandals! I bet that would stop it really quickly. I have come to understand that these types will not die for their causes. They only like to create scenes and drama and at the expense of others — their actions NEVER cost them personally. They have no clue what sacrifice and honor are about.
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