An LGBT veterans' monument located in Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Illinois has been defaced.
A vandal or vandals poured roofing tar on the monument, obscuring a prominent pink triangle as well as a portion of the inscription that highlighted the LGBT identity of the honorees.
Cemetery officials have filed a police report, according to an email sent to community organizations from the American Veterans for Equal Rights ( AVER ) Chicago chapter's vice-president and board member Timothy Zylstra.
"It truly is a sad state of affairs that someone would deface this lovely monument," said Zylstra. "I've been assured by our friends [at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery] that a police report has been filled out with the Elwood Police Department and will forward said report in the next few weeks once an estimate is received for restoring [the] monument back to its original status."
If the perpetrators are apprehended, the extent of the criminal charges will be determined by the costs of restoring the monument, he added.
The monument was dedicated just over two years ago, in May 2015. Its creation was largely spearheaded by Stanley J. Jenczyk, junior board member of the Chicago chapter of AVER, and it was the first federally approved monument honoring LGBT veterans. Another tribute to LGBT veterans was erected at the corner of Halsted and Addison Streets in Lake View in May 2017.