Vandals spray-paint military memorial in Golden with message about war in Gaza

GOLDEN, Colo. (KDVR) — Vandals with red spray paint defaced a decades-old military memorial in Golden with the message “Free Gaza.”

The vandalism was discovered early Thursday, and the sheriff’s department and police were notified.

“I was sick to my stomach and I just started crying,” said Paula Sarlls, president of the United States Marine Corps Memorial Foundation, the nonprofit that takes care of the memorial.

For Sarlls, a Marine veteran herself, this is not about politics or religion or taking sides in what’s happening in the Middle East. It’s about respecting those the memorial honors: the men and women who served their country and died, like her own husband, who lost his life to Agent Orange-related cancer.

“The people that this honors fought and died so that you could have free speech. But this isn’t free speech. This is vandalism,” she said.

Sarlls and other veteran volunteers visited the memorial Thursday night to assess the damage and determine their next steps. The timing is not great.

The memorial’s 47th-anniversary celebration and concert are set for late next month, and they’re in the middle of a fundraiser to remodel and reimagine the crumbling memorial . They’re hoping to raise $3 million for the renovations in time for the 50th anniversary in three years.

But the red spray paint is not the kind of redesign they had in mind.

The vandalism has been reported to the Golden Police Department and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, and they’re investigating. But there are no security cameras at the memorial that could identify the vandals.

If you have any information about the vandalism, contact Golden police or the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

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