Memorial for fallen Portland firefighters still missing 11 plates

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - A memorial to fallen Portland firefighters was severely damaged last week, with 14 plates removed and only three recovered.

According to the association, the damage at the David Campbell Memorial in Portland Firefighters Park was discovered on Sept. 6.

SEE ALSO: Nike confirms long-shuttered NE Portland Community Store won’t reopen

The suspect or suspects stole six commemorative brass name plates set into the floor of the memorial, leaving behind a seventh and severely damaging an eighth plate when they tried to pry it from the floor. The 95-year-old limestone floor was also damaged, along with “other features of the memorial,” the association said.

The walls were also tagged with graffiti, which may have been done separately from the floor damage, the association said, because the exact timing of the vandalism is unknown.

SEE ALSO: Student at North Salem HS attacks teachers, sprays officers with fire extinguisher: Police

“The damage done to the David Campbell Memorial is the most severe in memory,” the association said. “It is likely this same person has imposed damage in other parts of the community. Please be watchful for other problems in and around the Memorial and report them if you can.”

“Everyone is a story,” Don Port of Portland Fire & Rescue said. “Every one of these people died when a call from a community member, a citizen of Portland initiated their trip out the door in an emergency response that they would never return from. These have no inherit value as a piece of metal so it’s all the value of the story they have and the name that’s on them.”

The association is asking that anyone with information or surveillance video to contact Portland Police or the Portland Firefighters Association (503 -774-4302).

Copyright 2023 KPTV-KPDX. All rights reserved.