Natchez &8212; Sharon Goodrich stood in shock and disbelief upon arriving at Memorial Park to help prepare for the Veterans Day program at the monument near the Union Street entrance.

Pieces of marble tile, broken and chipped, lay on the memorial bricks surrounding the monument. Odd symbols drawn with black spray paint centered the circular floor of the monument and the inside of one cross beam.

&8220;I just don&8217;t understand it,&8221; said Goodrich, a former director of the Natchez National Cemetery, who helped to plan the program.

The graffiti seemed out of place for Natchez, said Lawrence Screws, an officer with the Natchez Police Department who was investigating the destruction. &8220;You don&8217;t see this around Natchez that much,&8221; he said.

Some bystanders suggested skateboarders had damaged the tiles. Chipped corners and whole chunks of the material had fallen away from the concrete base.

&8220;If it&8217;s skateboarders, we need some education about that. This is not the right place for skateboarding,&8221; Goodrich said, pointing to the bricks around the monument bearing the names of many of the area&8217;s veterans.

No one, however, could explain the graffiti, described by one veteran who stood nearby as relating to witches.

In his invocation, James Calhoun referred to the desecration of the monument. &8220;We&8217;re standing in something we don&8217;t understand, but the devil is going to find people to do his work,&8221; he said.