OVIEDO, Fla. – Worn out concrete, chipped and darkened, is a sign of the skid of a skateboard on the Veteran's Tribute at Oviedo on the Park.
"You can obviously see the scarring from the skateboards going across the benches," Navy veteran Kenneth Demmo said.
He's angry about the damage. He said the tribute is meant to honor our nation's heroes.
"They don't understand what the park means to some people, some veterans, and to destroy it like that, they just don't understand that it hurts people," Demmo said.
Memorial chairman and Oviedo Fire Chief Lars White and other park-goers have complained about the damage. The $150,000 project could now need thousands in repairs. They want to follow the lead of other places where skateboards are banned and install raised pieces on the concrete as deterrents. However, one skateboarding veteran isn't fond of the idea.
"I'm a veteran. I've lost very good friends," Alexander Claudio said. "I have many friends still serving. You know again, jumping on the side of a concrete, kids having fun in an area, that's what we fought for. We fought for freedom, for children, for everyone to have fun and enjoy themselves."
Claudio said the kids are just having harmless fun and need different spots to relax. He said a nearby skate park costs money that some kids don't have. The added benefit, he said, if kids are skating near the memorial, is that they may learn to appreciate it.
"Kids want to play around on the memorial, maybe they'll stop and look for a second,” Claudio said.
Demmo and White disagree. White plans to work with the city to try to figure out how to repair the memorial and place deterrents in popular skateboarding spots.