One day before the Fourth of July, police in Yarmouth, Massachusetts say American flags were “ripped down” from a highway overpass that’s named after a two-time Purple Heart recipient. 

Yarmouth police said an officer noticed the vandalism Friday on the Lance Corporal William Joseph Donovan Jr. Memorial Bridge over Route 6. 

“The officer found American flags forcefully ripped from the fencing,” police said. “Their grommets had been torn out, and flags were ripped apart at the seams left hanging.”

Lance Cpl. William Joseph Donovan Jr., a Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School graduate, was awarded the Purple Heart twice for injuries sustained in Operation Enduring Freedom. After returning home, he died in a motorcycle crash at 27 years old.

Yarmouth police are investigating the incident and urge anyone with information to contact them.

This isn’t the first time that flags on the bridge were damaged. Last summer, they were similarly torn down before being replaced in a rededication ceremony. 

The community has already stepped up to restore the patriotic display that was vandalized on Friday.

State Rep. Steve Xiarhos of Barnstable, who lost his son Marine Cpl. Nick Xiarhos to a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, said “Cape Cod sent a message tonight.”

“You can tear down flags, but you cannot tear down the spirit of this community. If anything, you made people stronger,” Xiarhos posted to Facebook. “You brought people together from all over Cape Cod, united by love of country and respect for those who have served.”