Veteran Memorial In Western New York Was Completely Destroyed

This happened over the weekend, and it’s absolutely shameful. 

Late on July 15, somebody came through the Niagara Falls Veterans Memorial and pushed over the newest bench they had installed. 

This bench was installed to honor all the branches of service as an addition to the Hyde Park memorial in 2011, according to News 4, but it was "left in shambles" after this unexpected event. 

Veterans of Western New York take immense pride in the memorial, and a lot of the funding for it stems from veterans in our community. 

While they plan to replace the bench as soon as they can, the monetary factor is not what angers them the most, but rather the blatant disrespect that this destructive act shows our Veterans. 

Those who served and are serving for our country have risked their lives to protect us, and someone went out of their way to destroy something that was put in place to honor our heroes. It’s shameful, and it is not reflective of Western New York as a whole. 

They still haven't found the culprit(s) behind the vandalism, but if you have any information or you think you may know something, you can contact the Chairman of the Niagara Falls Memorial Commission by calling (716) 680-2494 or you can contact the Niagara Falls Police Department by calling (716) 286-4547.

It’s just shocking to me that someone would even touch something like this. 

Let a veteran know that you appreciate them. Listen to their stories, talk to them, and thank them for their service. 

And if you feel like you “don’t have the time,” you need to read this.