LA County: $20,000 Reward for Veterans Memorial Vandals

Los Angeles County supervisors approved a $20,000 reward for information resulting in the arrest of vandals who desecrated a memorial to Vietnam War prisoners of war and those listed as missing in action.

Breitbart News reported on Memorial Day weekend that the mural, which was defaced late last week, was partially cleaned up by volunteers after veteran Charlie Saulenas made a public appeal:

Charlie Saulenas was here in 1992 when the community dedicated the Vietnam memorial that runs along Pacific Avenue. Now, he is pleading for help to restore it after it was vandalized with graffiti ahead of Memorial Day weekend.

“We can restore it by tomorrow,” he told Breitbart News early Sunday morning. “People have tried painting the letters again in black — but if we use some bright white paint, we can have it back to where it was by tomorrow, better than ever.”

Volunteers turned out in droves. Now, the city government is stepping in to pursue the culprits.

The Los Angeles Police Department had no active leads regarding the vandals, nor were they actively investigating the desecration at the time of the Breitbart News report. But CBS Los Angeles reports that L.A. County supervisors have now stepped in and are offering a reward in hopes of finding the vandals.

Supervisor Michael Antonovich “co-authored the county reward motion with Supervisor Sheila Kuehl.” Antonovich found the vandalism repulsive, saying, “This disgusting display of disrespect is an insult to those individuals who sacrificed for our country and a slap in the face to their still grieving families. It is also an indirect attack on all of our veterans and currently serving military personnel.”

Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Bonin also proposed a $10,000 reward for information leading to the capture and arrest of the vandals. Bonin said, “As we work to restore the mural, we need to take every step necessary to make sure the perpetrators of the crime are arrested and punished.”

AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.