Saugus Veterans Council seeks help after spate of vandalism upon town memorial

SAUGUS – Saugus residents traveling near Central and Winter streets may notice something off about the veterans monument.What is normally eight metal panels etched with the names of veterans is now just four panels after selectmen Chairman and Veterans Council President Steve Castinetti said the others had to be sent out for repairs because of vandalism.?Every year or every other year we add new names to the monument,” said Castinetti. “This year I went down to look at them ? and we originally had two panels we would have sent out to add names, but the other ones were so marred up and scratched and gouged ? we decided to send out four of them. We only had the money for four of them.”Castinetti said it looked as though someone took a knife or another sharp object and gouged the panels and ruined the protective coating and some of the names. There also a dollar sign carved into one of the panels, he said.?It?s just stupid destruction,” said Castinetti. “It looks like it was just the work of idle hands. It?s so unfortunate that people have to destroy things like a veterans monument. There?s no consideration for what these veterans gave to their town, their state, their country. To treat them like that is a shame. If they thought about it for a minute maybe they wouldn?t do the things that they do.”Castinetti said it will cost $1,600 to repair the panels, which comes from money raised by the original organization that constructed the monument, money that Castinetti said is dwindling.?I don?t think there?s a whole lot of money left in the account so we can only do four panels,” said Castinetti. “There are others there that still need to be fixed but we don?t have the money to do it. We took the worst ones and sent those out to be refinished.”Vietnam veteran and School Committee member Arthur Grabowski called the vandalism a “disgrace” and said it “boggles the mind” that someone would damage a veterans monument.?It?s a sad commentary,” said Grabowski. “It?s just desecration. To me it?s the same as going into a cemetery and knocking over a grave stone. I don?t know what thrill people get out of doing something like that. It just wounds your heart to think that these kids have no respect. It?s just wanton disregard for this treasure in town ? Whoever is doing it, probably has one or two relatives on their themselves.”Castinetti said he?s trying to have a surveillance system installed in the area to ward off potential vandals and is hoping a local company will help out the Veterans Council.?Hopefully they?ll donate a surveillance system because we don?t have the money to pay for one,” said Castinetti. “We want to see if we can get someone to step up to the plate so we can keep an eye on the place. We all know the Police Department is short-handed. I understand that. They do spend time there with the cruisers, but you can?t be there 24 hours a day.”Castinetti said the four panels will be reinstalled by Veterans Day, but noted if there?s more damage done next year, he doesn?t know where the money will come from to fix it.?There will be no money left,” said Castinetti. “If they destroy them next year, I don?t know what to say. Either someone will have to step up and help us out or they will remain defaced. It?s sad because we do our Veterans Day ceremony there every year and you like it to look nice.”Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].