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WQAD

WQAD

WQAD

WQAD

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — People in eastern Iowa are waking up to an unfortunate sight on this Memorial Day.

WQAD reports that vandals targeted the Cedar Falls’ Freedom Rock, a monument dedicated to honoring veterans.

“I think there’s a lot of veterans especially happening on Memorial weekend who are extremely disheartened by the fact that somebody would not even contemplate what this means to those people,” said Cedar Falls resident Mary Carlson.

The Freedom Rock is a powerful illustration of the cost of war. Words of honor are now illegible due to black spray paint.

Police say it happened overnight but there are no surveillance cameras in that area so authorities don’t know who did it.

“It just really worries me, because not only do they not care about all the work that was put in, but someone’s not watching them,” Carlson said.

Carlson’s parents live next door to the Freedom Rock, and their fence and shed were also vandalized.

The artist, Ray “Bubba” Sorensen II, posted this on the Freedom Rock Facebook:

To our Veterans: Do not let the actions of a few douse the appreciation that the majority of Americans feel toward you and your service. Thank you for serving our country. Paintings can be repaired… That is a risk I take when publicly displaying art. It’s not the first time, nor will it be the last. The key is to keep creating and honoring… And I will, as long as I live.