Cenotaph in Regina’s Victoria Park vandalized with spray paint

People walking through Victoria Park on Wednesday morning may have seen graffiti had been spray-painted onto the Cenotaph.

A vulgar phrase was scrawled on the war memorial, just above the base of the monument. There was also a second tag on the steps leading up to the memorial.

Chad Wagner, the provincial executive director of the Royal Canadian Legion, called the act of vandalism highly disrespectful.

“We were completely disgusted by this,” he said. “You know, soldiers lay their lives on the line for the ability to live free, and this is just a blatant disregard for not only humanity but common sense.”

People walking through the park were equally disgusted by the vandalism.

“It’s extremely disrespectful,” one woman said.

“It’s not acceptable,” a man added after seeing the graffiti.

The monument has been vandalized before, with messages being spray-painted onto it or plaques being stolen.

“We haven’t seen a lot of this,” Wagner said. “It seems like this Cenotaph seems to get hit once a year. I mean, it does happen, but anytime more than zero is too many.”

Wagner said education was the key to stopping this kind of behaviour.

“We need to educate the public more,” he said. “We need to make people understand what remembrance means and to understand the sacrifices made by veterans for our freedom. Instances like this are just a blatant disregard for all that.”

980 CJME reached out to the City of Regina for comment, but hadn’t received a response by the time of publication.