A memorial for firefighters that gave their lives during the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001 in the village of Washingtonville, Orange County, New York was defaced by vandals.
The memorial was created in 2002 and is dedicated to five firefighters from Washingtonville who sacrificed their lives during 9/11. It consists of a 25-foot flagpole, a semi-circle of five granite monuments, one for each of the firefighters, a series of large plaques honoring the service of all emergency responders and a brick walkway known as the “Walkway of Heroes,” where each brick has the name and assignment of each emergency responder that gave their life on 9/11.
According to Washingtonville Mayor Joseph Bucco, the vandals cut down the flagpole and defaced the rest of the memorial with graffiti. The vandals also ran off with an eagle figurine that sat on top of the flagpole. It was found in the nearby St. Mary's Church – the sign to which was also damaged. Officials believe the vandalism of the church is linked to the main incident.
The Washingtonville Police Department (WPD) hoped that the flagpole coming down was just an accident. However, when they arrived at the memorial there was no question that it was an act of vandalism.
WPD Chief Brian Zaccaro said that a tool was used to saw through the flagpole around 5 feet from the base, and a message was written on the part of the pole that was still attached to the ground. The WPD have yet to reveal the details of the message, as it may affect the overall investigation.
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“It was like a punch to the stomach,” said Joe Zaccaro, the creator of the memorial. “I was just so upset and I started getting a bunch of text messages and emails from a lot of people from our town.” (Related: After 9/11, liberals begged the country not to be bigoted toward all Muslims, so why are they bigoted towards ALL cops now, when only a few committed this latest atrocity?)
The WPD is working with New York State Police and the Orange County District Attorney's Office to find the perpetrators of this heinous act of vandalism. They have even offered a reward of $5,500 for anybody to come forward with information that can lead to the arrest of the criminals responsible.
Furthermore, the FBI field office in New York City has offered to help with the investigation, even though Washingtonville hasn't specifically requested for aid yet.
Listen to this episode of the Health Ranger Report, a podcast by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, as he talks about how the Radical Lunatic Left is not even sparing language in its attempt to destroy America.
Washingtonville community stands together against vandals who desecrated the memorial
Every prominent individual in Washingtonville has come out to express their disgust at the act of vandalism and to condemn the actions of the criminals responsible. Local residents and volunteer firefighters even stepped up to keep watch over the memorial for two straight nights after the flagpole was cut down so that it wouldn't be desecrated again.
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Renaldo Robledo, a 9/11 first responder, went down to the memorial on Thursday, July 9, to leave a folded American flag and pay his respects.
“It brought tears to my eyes,” he said, “because I lost a lot of friends [on 9/11], and it's still hurting.” News 12 Westchester also witnessed many other members of the community come by the memorial to place flags. The Monell Engine Company of the Washingtonville Fire Department even came down to install a temporary flag pole at the memorial.
“They picked the wrong village here for this to happen,” said Mayor Bucco, who pledged to get the memorial fixed immediately. In addition, he said that surveillance cameras will also be installed to make sure that nothing like this ever happens again.
Other prominent members of the community who spoke out against the heinous crime include Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus, New York State Republican Assemblyman Colin Schmitt and New York Democratic Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney. Both Schmitt's and Maloney's districts cover Washingtonville.
“You just wonder who would do such a stupid thing,” said Maloney, “but what we were just talking to the mayor about is how they picked the wrong community and this community is going to come together like never before.”
The desecration of this memorial is just one of the many acts of vandalism brought on by the wave of rioting and civil unrest across the nation. Learn more about it at Rioting.news.
Sources include:
LivingMemorial.VoicesOfSeptember11.org
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