The Nation - News from May 30, 1989

A Vietnam War memorial in Philadelphia was splashed with white paint, upsetting veterans paying a Memorial Day visit to the granite monument, police said. Police said they believed only one person was involved in the early-morning act of vandalism. A paint can and a straw hat draped with an American flag were found nearby. Firefighters removed the latex paint from smooth surfaces on the monument but were unable to remove it from a more porous surface that is engraved with the names of more than 600 Philadelphians who died in Vietnam. The memorial was erected 18 months ago through the contributions of Vietnam-era veterans and others who raised $800,000 for its construction and maintenance.