World War II Memorial Vandalized With Graffiti, Soap Bubbles

The World War II Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was vandalized Thursday with graffiti and soap bubbles.

The fountain bubbled over with suds, and the area was splattered with red and green paint. Graffiti reading "Clean hands dirty $" was written in red paint. The Interior Department is investigating the vandalism, with U.S. Park Police on the scene. An Interior Department spokesperson called the incident an utter disgrace and vowed to find the person responsible.

Workers arrived to remove the graffiti. Uniformed police and National Guard troops converged on the scene, which was cordoned off with yellow crime scene tape. Dedicated in 2004 by President George W. Bush, the memorial honors the 400,000 Americans who died and 16 million who served in the armed forces during World War II. It features 56 granite pillars around an elliptical plaza.

Its Freedom Wall features 4,048 gold stars, each representing 100 American military deaths, with the inscription "Here we mark the price of freedom." The Friends of the National World War II Memorial, a nonprofit organization, stated that a national memorial honoring those who served should never be used as a canvas for vandalism. The Veterans of Foreign Wars called the vandalism an act of profound disrespect.

Tourists at the scene condemned the incident. Thursday's vandalism follows another incident on the National Mall in June, when someone wrote "86 47" in graffiti. The number "47" refers to President Donald Trump, and "86" is slang for removing someone. No suspect has been publicly identified in either incident.