By Mike Donoghue, Vermont News First

 Bennington Police say they have begun a criminal investigation into the malicious spray painting of obscene messages that defaced the war time honor rolls outside the Vermont Veterans’ Home in the historic town.

Vandals painted obscene messages on the individual monuments that honor those that served at various times, including during World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War and Desert Storm.

They also sprayed painted obscene words on the sidewalks and the benches that are often used by guests visiting the residents at the home.

“The Veterans were crying. They were in their wheelchairs. They were upset,” according to local resident Susan Plaisance, who learned about the incident and helped with the clean-up.

The messages, mostly in red or white paint, frequently used the “F” word to attack wars, people, the country and groups. In one case it called Americans “(Expletive) Killing Machines.”

A few messages attacked President Donald Trump and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement.)

In one note the person claimed they were a lesbian.

Bennington Police said Saturday that they were currently investigating a vandalism incident at the Vermont Veterans Home that occurred in the overnight hours.

Police said their investigation was in the early stages so there was limited information.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call Bennington Police at (802) 442-1030.

Plaisance said she received a tip about the vandalism about 6:45 a.m. Saturday and headed over to the North Street site.

Plaisance, who took pictures, is the longtime advertising sales manager for Vermont News & Media, which publishes three daily newspapers, the Bennington Banner, Manchester Journal and Brattleboro Reformer.

She said she ended up jumping in to try to help clean the stones, which were dedicated on Memorial Day 2010.

Plaisance said the Bennington Fire Department, Veterans Home employees, and other volunteers also worked to try to scrub and clean the impacted stones. She said it was organized through Norm LeBlanc of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) for Bennington County Post 1332.

Historic Bennington played a key role in the founding of this nation, the state and several wars. The 300-foot-tall Bennington Monument, which honors the Battle of Bennington from the American Revolutionary War, and the Vermont Veterans’ Home are two of the best-known sites for visitors.

The state-run home provides long-term care for military veterans, spouses and Gold Star parents.

It was a year ago that the town of Shelburne experienced similar vandalism to its Veterans Memorial on the town parade ground one day after the country celebrated its 249th birthday, on July 4.

The vandals scrawled messages, some obscene, across the top of the granite memorial in Shelburne. The messages appeared to have been written with a permanent black magic marker to deface the stone, which paid honor to the various conflicts for the United States: World War I, World War II, Korea, Cold War, Vietnam, Persian Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan.