American flags were ripped from a Massachusetts bridge dedicated to a two-time Purple Heart recipient just one day before the Fourth of July, prompting widespread anger from the community.
Yarmouth police said an officer discovered the vandalism Friday on the Lance Corporal William Joseph Donovan Jr. Memorial Bridge over Route 6, where the Stars and Stripes had been “forcefully ripped from the fencing.”
“Their grommets had been torn out, and flags were ripped apart at the seams, left hanging,” the police department said in a Facebook post.
Authorities said the incident was at least the second time vandals had targeted and damaged flags on the bridge, following a similar case last August.
The bridge was later rededicated to the fallen Marine on September 20, 2025, “honoring Lance Corporal Donovan’s service and sacrifice to our nation, and reaffirming the community’s commitment to preserving his memory,” the Yarmouth Police Department wrote.
Donovan, a 2006 graduate of the local high school, received two Purple Hearts for wounds he suffered while serving in Operation Enduring Freedom.
He was 27 when he died in 2015 in a motorcycle crash while riding with the Massachusetts Fallen Heroes Riders in the Boston area.
The damage drew sharp criticism online, with many users condemning the act as disrespectful and unpatriotic.
A heartless vandal tore down American flags on a Massachusetts bridge just one day before the Fourth of July
The bridge was dedicated in memory of Lance Corporal William Joseph Donovan Jr, who was awarded the Purple Heart twice for injuries he sustained in Operation Enduring Freedom, before he died in 2015 at the age of 27
‘I get some so-called Americans do not think we should be celebrating because they do not like the president,’ one woman commented. ‘It is not a day about the president.
‘It is about the fallen men, women [who] fought for our freedoms since 1776 and because of the patriots in 1776, this country was born,’ she said.
Another Facebook user lamented that: ‘Now, I really do understand when President Reagan meant when he said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. It has to be fought for and defended by each generation.”‘
But a third social media user affirmed, ‘No matter how many times people try to tear down our flag, it only makes us stronger in defending freedom.’
The community has since stepped up to restore the patriotic display.
‘Veterans, bikers, first responders, families, friends, neighbors and so many proud Americans came together to replace every damaged and destroyed American flag,’ Massachusetts State Representative Steve Xiarhos shared.
Xiarhos – who lost his own son, Marine Corporal Nick Xiarhos, to a roadside bomb in Afghanistan – added that Donovan’s father ‘said something tonight that I’ll never forget.
‘Looking toward the person, or people, responsible, he simply said, “Be better,”‘ the state representative said.
Community members gathered at the bridge on Friday night to restore the flags
The flags were back up over the bridge in time for the Independence Day holiday
‘Coming from the father of a Marine who gave his blood on foreign soil defending our freedom, those two words spoke louder than anything else could have.
‘Tonight proved something important,’ Xiarhos continued. ‘You can tear down flags, but you cannot tear down the spirit of this community. If anything, you made people stronger.
‘You brought people together from all over Cape Cod, united by love of country and respect for those who have served,’ he told the vandal responsible.
Yarmouth police are continuing to investigate the vandalism and urge anyone with information about the incident to contact the police department.
