Cenotaph vandalism sparks legion support

ARoyal Canadian Legion branch in Fredericton is being overwhelmed by offers of help from across Canada after the cenotaph in the capital city was damaged over the weekend.

Jim Little, general manager of Branch 4 of the Royal Canadian Legion the legion office most closely associated with the war monument said he has been receiving calls all day from people offering help.

"Three calls right off the bat from Toronto, another one from Ottawa, two from Brandon, Man., and another one from Winnipeg. The outgoing of support and concern has really been phenomenal," Little said.

"The first thing they say is: 'We're shocked by what's happened in Fredericton at your cenotaph. Is there anything we can do to help?'We've had financial support being offered; we've had physical support being offered."

Little said numerous emails of support have arrived from across the country.

"This recent crime of vandalism has shocked the nation, but it has to be especially hard for you folks," wrote one. "Our hearts are with you."

The cenotaph is the site of the main Remembrance Day event in Fredericton. A three-metre-high granite cross atop the monument was toppled and smashed to pieces.

Little said any money being donated toward repairing the cenotaph is being put into a trust fund because at the moment, such a fund doesn't exist. He said members will handle that problem after Remembrance Day.

Jean-Guy Perrault, the president of Branch 4, said Wednesday's ceremonies will go forward as planned.

"All the people [are] going to support us here,Fredericton, because Frederictonians know what's Remembrance Day," he said.

Members of the legion said a local MP's office called to remind them that the federal government has a program that pays half the cost, up to $25,000, of restoring cenotaphs and monuments.

School remembers

On Tuesday, students at Fredericton High School held a Remembrance Day ceremony and addressed the incident.

"We are all saddened and offended by the senseless vandalism on the downtown cenotaph," said Seamus Bowen, one of the students who organized the assembly.

"I think it really shows a difference between kids our age, that some of us can go down and do such a thing as destroy a cenotaph and others put their hearts into an assembly to remember," he said.

"I just want people to know that people that do things like that downtown don't represent our generation and things like that."

Meanwhile, Fredericton police are reviewing video from surveillance cameras in the area around the provincial cenotaph. They hope to find images that will lead them to the vandalism suspects.

Cpl. Mike Berry, who is leading the investigation, said it's still unclear how the cross was toppled from its pedestal, because there are no obvious tool marks or evidence that it was pulled over by a vehicle.

"We deal with mischief and property damage on a daily basis," he said."But something of this magnitude that impacts so many people, for such a monumental landmark, it's hard for even the police to get their head around it, to understand why."

Michael Boudreau, chairman of the department of criminology at St. Thomas University, said whoever is responsible may have a serious problem with authority or an issue with war.

"It could be a random act, but I highly doubt it, because there was a lot of planning that went into this,"saidBoudreau.

"One could argue this also falls into the realm more broadly of a hate crime, because this was a religious symbol that was desecrated. It wasn't just a war memorial."