Army Airborne museum curator: Statue of wrong Lee vandalized

DUNN, N.C. – A North Carolina museum curator says he believes vandals retaliating against Confederate monuments have burned a statue, but one of the wrong General Lee.

The Maj. Gen. William C. Lee Airborne Museum says in a Facebook post that a statue of the World War II Army officer was burned last week. The curator of the museum in Dunn, Mark Johnson, tells news outlets that he thinks the statue of the father of the U.S. Airborne was mistaken for one of Confederate general Robert E. Lee.

Johnson says the men share last names but aren’t related. He says the statue was probably scorched as a statement against slavery and racism. He expects repairs to cost several hundred dollars.

Local firefighters put out flames on the white marble statue. Police are investigating.