Lethbridge veteran reacts to Vimy Memorial vandalism

The Vimy Memorial in France has been vandalized.

Many people are understandably very upset at the news as it was learned on Tuesday evening that a person was spraying graffiti on the special memorial that honours veterans.

A Facebook user named Dave McCleary provided a photo after the mess was cleaned off and he says the graffiti was sprayed close to his family name.

His grandfather was severely wounded during Vimy and died a few days later as they tried to transport him to England.

The monument bears the names of thousands of Canadian soldiers who died in the First World War.

Glenn Miller, a volunteer with the Lethbridge Military Museum, and a veteran himself, says he is deeply troubled by the vandalism.

“As anyone who gets something vandalized through graffiti, you know, it’s quite upsetting, and I’m sure that the French and Canadian authorities are working closely and quickly together to honor the monument by having it removed as quickly as possible. When you’re doing graffiti on a monument, it’s a cenotaph, it’s an empty tomb where all those 11,000 plus names are inscribed. So the graffiti extends an insult to each and every one of them, plus the Canadians and country as a whole.”

Veterans Affairs Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor, released a statement saying, “I am shocked & appalled that the Canadian National Vimy Memorial, a sacred space honouring the 60,000 Canadians who gave their lives in Europe during the First World War, was vandalized. We are working with French authorities to find the person responsible.”