Gettysburg National Military Park In Pennsylvania Subjected To Vandalism
Pennsylvania’s Gettysburg National Military Park, where a pivotal battle of the Civil War was fought, was recently subject to vandalism.
In a statement shared by the National Park Service last week, they said that someone, or multiple people, had both spray painted and carved graffiti on the War Department Observation Tower, and on a large rock. The vandalism took place over a period of a few days, as reported by CNN.
“Our hearts sank when these two cases of vandalism were reported within days of each other. We were fearful that the graffiti carved into the rock may be there for future generations,” Park Superintendent Kristina Heister said in a statement.
Park staff were luckily able to quickly and swiftly remove all of the vandalism after it occurred.
In her statement, Heister thanked the staffers who were able to remove the graffiti once visitors of the park alerted them of the damage. One of the graffiti items showed the names Jayce and Maddie in a heart with the date 9/13/20.
While the vandalism itself didn’t cause any permanent damage, the National Park Service still wants to know who was responsible for the vandalism.
“We can’t do it alone. Vandalism of irreplaceable historic objects and structures that belong to all Americans should concern everyone. We all share in the responsibility of protecting and caring for this special place and everyone is a steward of the heritage, history, and resources of Gettysburg during their visit,” the statement read.
Unfortunately, vandalism across America’s national parks is not an uncommon occurrence, many times due to their large size. It’s also common for individuals working within these parks and the National Parks Service to ask the public for help identifying the responsible parties.
CNN reported back in 2020 how a Canadian man wrote “Steve and Lacy” on rocks and other historic structures in California’s Joshua Tree National Forest. The man turned himself in and made a public apology when one of his acquaintances saw the pictures of the graffiti on social media.
Even more recently, the Grand Canyon recently issued a major warning against leaving what are known as “love locks” hooked onto structures throughout the Arizona park.
The locks themselves weigh down the structures they’re placed on throughout the park. Additionally, it’s often “tradition” in the ceremony of placing a love lock somewhere to take the key and throw it in the nearest body of water. The locks and keys have been known to be eaten by California condors as they’re attracted to shiny objects in the distance. The condors are also endangered and live in the Grand Canyon.
For this reason and others, the National Parks Service considers love locks to be seen as graffiti and litter.
“Love is strong, but our bolt cutters are stronger,” the Grand Canyon wrote.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.