The National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., was vandalized Thursday, leaving paint across portions of the monument and bubbles filling its fountain as authorities began investigating who was responsible.
According to Reuters, the memorial was temporarily closed while workers began removing the graffiti and cleaning the site.
One surface was marked in red paint with the words “Clean hands Dirty $.” Red and green paint was also splashed elsewhere on the memorial. Meanwhile, soap apparently placed in the fountain produced large amounts of bubbles.
The location makes the vandalism particularly sensitive.
Dedicated in 2004, the World War II Memorial sits on the National Mall and honors the approximately 16 million Americans who served in the U.S. armed forces during World War II, including more than 400,000 who died. Its design includes 56 granite pillars representing U.S. states and territories and the District of Columbia as they existed during the war.
The Friends of the National WWII Memorial, a nonprofit organization devoted to preserving and supporting the site, called the vandalism “unacceptable.”
“There are many places in our country for expression, debate, and disagreement,” the organization said in a statement. “A national memorial honoring those who served and those who never returned home should never be used as a canvas for vandalism.”
The Department of the Interior issued an even sharper response, calling what happened an “utter disgrace.”
“The World War II Memorial is a sacred place to honor the service of our members of the Armed Forces and the over 400,000 Americans who gave the ultimate sacrifice in WWII,” the department said, according to WRC-TV.
“The vandalism that occurred is an utter disgrace and will not be tolerated,” the statement continued. “Our U.S. Park Police are on the scene and the investigation is ongoing. The public should know we will find the person responsible for this disgusting act.”
The World War II Memorial was vandalized with soap in the fountain and graffiti on the memorial itself.
7News obtained a photo of paint graffiti, which appears to read “Clean hands / Dirty $.” Meanwhile, the fountains are filled with bubbles formed from the soap.#wjla… pic.twitter.com/fq826ADzh2
— 7News DC (@7NewsDC) August 13, 2026
The Veterans of Foreign Wars also condemned the damage, describing the defacement as “an act of profound disrespect, a slap in the face to the veterans who served and sacrificed and to the families who carried that burden at home,” according to the Associated Press.
For veterans visiting the memorial, the reaction was more personal.
Army veteran Debra Mortensen told Fox News that seeing the vandalism left her furious.
“It just makes me absolutely irate,” Mortensen said. “I was offended because people fought and died for our country, and it’s dishonoring our country and all we’ve been through.”
The graffiti’s message did not immediately establish who was responsible or what specific cause motivated the vandalism. Authorities had not publicly identified a suspect in the reports cited, and U.S. Park Police were investigating.
