A memorial honoring Portland firefighters who gave the ultimate sacrifice has been vandalized.
Name plates of some of the fallen heroes have been stolen, lanterns shattered and Italian limestone chipped this week, KGW reported.
The David Campbell Memorial has stood for almost 100 years.
Campbell was chief and was killed in the line of duty on June 26, 1911. He borrowed a turnout coat and went inside the Union Oil Distributing plant to fight the fire.
An explosion blew off the roof and Campbell died inside. He was the first firefighter in Oregon to die on duty.
Portland citizens built a memorial in his honor. Plaques with names of other firefighters who died while serving their community have been added over the years.
"Now they're literally destroyed, damaged,” said Don Porth, who retired after 27 years.
Now, he takes care of the memorial. He said vandalism is common, but this damage is worse than any he’s seen.
“It’s been 95 years and nothing like this has happened,” Porth said adding that renovations are planned for next year.
Until then, the plaques will likely be taken out of the memorial and stored somewhere safer.
