Plymouth 9/11 memorial vandalized one week after Plymouth Rock defaced

“At first I was angry, then I was heartbroken and sad,” Former Plymouth Selectman Dick Quintal, who took out a second mortgage on his home to fund the construction of the memorial, told WCVB News.

The memorial features seven black granite blocks inscribed with the names of those who lost their lives during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and a steel beam from the World Trade Center.

“To have something like this is pretty appalling,” fire union president Brian Baragwanath told NBC Boston.

“9/11 affected us all, I think we all know where we were at that moment. I think it’s important that we never forget,” Baragwanath said.

“We are going to use our own funds within the union, our own manpower within the union to attempt to rectify this,” he added.

On Tuesday, dozens of Plymouth firefighters showed up and began work on repairing the memorial, according to WCVB.

The 9/11 memorial vandalism comes a week after Plymouth Rock, a national landmark engraved with the year 1620, signifying the year the Pilgrims on the Mayflower arrived in Massachusetts, was sprayed with red graffiti. The 400th anniversary of the Mayflower landing is coming up later this year.

“They vandalized everything. All the statues, monuments. These people went around town all night and did all kinds of damage,” Plymouth resident Peter Sullivan told CNN.

It is unclear whether the two incidents are connected.