Skip to content

Vandal-proofing Prevost memorial only part of solution

In assessing the constant damage I ask the question, is the problem universal in western society?
15097907_web1_letters-logo-1-660x440

Vandal-proofing Prevost memorial only part of solution

The desceration of the Mount Prevost memorial dedicated to those of our Valley who fought to preserve our way of life in our beautiful land, is a travesty of reason, rationality and basic rule of law.

In assessing the constant damage I ask the question, is the problem universal in western society?

Locally, I see our unique cemeteries are well respected and only once can I recall the Charles Hoey VC Park and Cenotaph vandalized by a deranged individual.

Internationally, I have visited many significant remembrance sites, Kranji, Singapore, Sui Wen, Hong Kong, where the Canadian Brigade dead lie buried from 1941. Even the El Alamein memorial in Kin Park, Perth, Australia, centred around a 25 pound artillery piece complete with delicate conical sights bear no trace of damage or graffiti.

What is it that draws man to break with out well founded rules of law and social mores of respect for the dead and the remembrance of their sacrifice?

Vandal proofing the memorial is only one part of the problem. the perpetrators are still out there. Are they the same individuals who slaughter protected elk and leave their bodies to rot?

These egocentric vandals should be identified, exposed to the public, no holding of facts, and prosecuted to the extent of the law. If more police funds are required, they should be found.

This last summer I took a young university student, granddaughter of a friend from my British youth, to the top of Mount Prevost. An exciting truck ride and a tough short hike rewarded us a perfect view of the Valley. She sat on a rock gazing over the beauty while the swallows flitted and a turkey vulture lumbered by, the silence thundered. Was she appreciating the decision of her great grandparents to leave Austria in 1938 and thereby escape the Holocaust? I did not ask, but knowing her fine sociological academic background she will be an asset to any culturally diverse communtiy she chooses to work in.

K. Ben Buss

Duncan