Well, at least some apologies from some of them...
Ottawa teen offers tearful apology to veterans for desecrating monument
Jennifer Ditchburn, Canadian Press, 7 Jul 06
http://www.cjad.com/node/379379
An Ottawa-area teenager showed up at the offices of the Royal Canadian Legion on Friday to tearfully apologize for urinating on the National War Memorial.
Another teen also photographed on Canada Day relieving himself at the monument submitted an apology through the Ottawa police. And a third man, identified by police as 23-year-old Stephen Fernandes of Montreal, was charged Friday with mischief for allegedly urinating in the same area.
Bob Butt of the Royal Canadian Legion's headquarters said one of the teens turned up Friday to offer a "contrite" apology to a senior official.
"The young man apologized to the legion, the veterans of Canada and the citizens of Canada," Butt said in an interview. "The apology was definitely heartfelt. I know that it was real, and I know it was heartfelt and I know the young person was definitely sorry."
He added that the apology was accepted.
"The actual act is inexcusable, but that doesn't mean that if someone wants to come and make amends that we would turn that down; we're not ogres, we're not vigilantes," Butt said.
The two young men did not face any criminal charges because they agreed to formally apologize and to engage in some sort of community service. The legion has arranged from them to do some work with a veterans' group. They have not been identified because of their age.
The three separate urinating incidents were photographed by a veteran who was at the monument on Canada Day. The pictures caused a national uproar, with one unemployed man even standing watch on the steps for a spell.
The National War Memorial with its Tomb of the Unknown Soldier sits right in the middle of downtown Ottawa, roughly in front of the Parliament buildings. On Canada Day, with roads closed, it's crossed and admired by thousands and thousands of revellers and tourists.
The legion and other veterans groups have called on the government to post a military guard to the monument. They point out that this isn't the first time it's been desecrated. Last Remembrance Day, someone spraypainted a swastika on the stone in the early morning hours.
Skateboarders and stunt cyclists have also used and abused the sight, and veterans complain of "amorous encounters" around the site.
They say a lack of education on what Canadian veterans have contributed to the country is largely to blame.
"We've asked for a guard, not only to explain the significance but also to keep guard," Butt said.
"It would be a heck of a lot easier for someone to be there to explain it, for the hundreds of thousands of people who go through here and don't understand."
NOT.
