YARMOUTH, MASS. (WHDH) - American flags honoring a two-time Purple Heart recipient were torn down from the Lance Corporal William Joseph Donovan Jr. Bridge in Yarmouth Monday, according to officials.
The bridge on West Yarmouth Road is named after a Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School graduate who served as a marine in Afghanistan and has been recognized with a purple heart twice.
Donovan died in a motorcycle accident in 2015 while participating in an event for the Massachusetts Fallen Heroes Riders.
The flags were placed on the bridge Friday by Donovan’s father. They replaced eight flags that were previously damaged in July.
State officials say this vandalism is unacceptable.
“It’s hurtful, it’s not just the piece of cloth,” said Massachusetts State Rep. Steven Xiarhos. “Some coward destroyed the American flags on Will’s bridge that his dad had just put up over the weekend.”
Xiarhos knew Donovan well. He says Donovan went to high school with and served the country alongside his son Nick.
“If you damage someone else’s flag on one of those bridges, you’re committing a felony and you’re disrespecting the families,” said Xiarhos. “It’s bigger than politics. People like Will and Nick risked their lives so you can have that freedom, that flag represents them.”
Organizers tell 7NEWS there are plans to replace the torn flags.
Anyone with information about the vandalism is asked to call Yarmouth police.
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