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WWII-era tank at Indiana veterans memorial defaced

HUNTINGTON, Ind. (WANE) — The World War II-era tank that serves as the pride of Huntington’s Memorial Park Veterans Memorial has been vandalized with a recognized Ku Klux Klan chapter marking.

The city of Huntington’s City Services department learned Monday that the Sherman tank at the park had been tagged in white spray paint with “KKKK,” a common nod to the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. In a Facebook post, the city said the graffiti was part of a “wave of vandalism” around the city and called the markings on the tank “most troubling.”

Bob Caley, the superintendent of Huntington’s City Services, told WISH-TV’s sister station WANE on Tuesday that he’s not sure when the vandalism happened. Caley said he’s “very disturbed” by the message, especially considering what the tank and the memorial stands for.

Caley said a crew was sent to the park to begin removing the graffiti early Tuesday. He said the job will be difficult, and some of the original paint on the tank had also come off during the cleaning process.