‘It’s a disgrace’: Tribute to Massachusetts soldier targeted for second time on Cape Cod

YARMOUTH, Mass. — For the second time in as many months, police say several American flags on a memorial overpass were torn down.

Yarmouth Police say eight flags with double-threaded seams were forcefully pulled off the fencing of the Lance Corporal William Joseph Donovan Jr. Memorial Bridge on West Yarmouth Road.

It happened in the overnight hours early Monday morning.

Donovan, who bravely served in Afghanistan, died in a motorcycle crash in 2015 at age 27. He was recipient of the Purple Heart.

His father had just replaced the flags honoring his son on Friday after someone vandalized them back in July.

“You can be angry at America, but you don’t take it out on the flag, especially on the flag of someone else’s and on a monument to someone that bled for you,” said Massachusetts State Representative Steven Xiarhos.

For the 5th Barnstable Republican and Gold Star father, the act of vandalism is especially personal.

Donovan was a high school friend of his son Nick, a U.S. Marine who was killed in Afghanistan while serving our country.

“They really should be ashamed of themselves,” Rep. Xiarhos told Boston 25 News. “Whoever did it will be found and held accountable.”

Xiarhos, who previously served as a police officer in Yarmouth for 40 years, said the crime is a felony.

In a statement, Governor Maura Healey says incidents like this will not be tolerated:

Destroying the American flag isn’t a statement — it’s a disgrace. It’s an insult to everyone who’s ever fought to defend it, and it will not be tolerated. Lance Corporal Donovan was a hero, and my heart goes out to his loved ones. I’ll always stand with our veterans and their families.

Rep. Xiarhos said the flags will be replaced in the coming weeks.

“Desecrating these flags is an attack on decency, said Ambassador Alan Leventhal, longtime resident of Yarmouth. ”These flags represent the memory of William Donovan and honor his family’s loss. Whatever message the vandals meant to send, all they accomplished was hurting people who have lost someone they love," he added.

Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to contact Yarmouth Police.

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