It was the sort of phone call Don Swander thought he wouldn’t get again.

Swander, 72, is the president of the Windham Veteran Association and was informed last week that officer Trish Buck had found two large designs spray-painted on the back wall of the veterans center behind the Windham mall.

About a year ago, vandals lopped the tops off several of the trees planted in a budding park and broke the windows of the veterans center.

“I just couldn’t believe it,” said Swander.

“What level would someone have to be functioning at to get enjoyment out of vandalizing the back of a veterans center?” he asked.

Swander, a World War II vet, said his members aren’t surprised anymore.

“My veterans here are not accepting it. They are very upset,” he said.

The two sloppy shapes were applied in large, bright paint. One contains the initials JLL and what appears to be NHB or GHB. The other, in pink, has a mash of letters too close together to read. Swander said the vandal or vandals may have written a name and, realizing it would reveal their identity, painted over it.

A series of snowmobile tracks criss-cross the veterans center yard, covering areas that had been planted in the past year, and ride up to the graffiti. Swander doesn’t believe the vandalism was done by a snowmobiler, but said the area is off-limits to snow craft.

He said he’s tried putting up no trespassing signs in the past, but “as soon as I put them up, they take them down.” He said after his 20th sign was stolen, he gave up.

“I really need to get this (snowmobile) traffic to stop,” said Swander.

The experience has left Swander wondering why young people have such little regard for veterans today.

“Maybe they don’t know about vets, and what the word means,” he said.

Vandalism1: Swander, 72, president of the Windham Veteran Association said he thought the vandalism would stop after the community pitched in to renovate the veterans center this fall. “What level would someone have to be functioning at to get enjoyment out of vandalizing the back of a veterans center?” he said.Vandalism2 & Vandalism3: The graffiti sprayed on the back of the Windham Veterans Center was the first vandalism incident the building has had in about a year. The building is wedged in the woods behind the Windham mall and is shielded from view on three sides.Vandalism2 & Vandalism3: The graffiti sprayed on the back of the Windham Veterans Center was the first vandalism incident the building has had in about a year. The building is wedged in the woods behind the Windham mall and is shielded from view on three sides.