Recruiters from every branch of the United States Armed Forces who work at storefront offices in St. Joseph arrived Friday morning to discover plate-glass windows busted and windshields on five government vehicles shattered.

It appears the vandals hit during the early morning hours on Friday and didn’t enter any recruiting offices, said St. Joseph Police Department Officer Mike George. At the U.S. Armed Forces, four large plate-glass windows and two glass windows above the main entrance were shattered. The office sits between a shoe store and a video game exchanger in a shopping complex at 1401 N. Belt Highway.

They are staffed by recruiters from all five armed forces components: Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard.

Five vehicles in the parking lot also had windows broken or starred. All vehicles have government license plates, but only one was marked with recruiting signage.

Vandals also hit blocks up the road, where they broke out four windows at the Air National Guard Recruiter Office, 2115 N. Belt Highway, according to police.

Vandals didn’t leave a message or indicate a reason for the destruction, Mr. George said.

Through the morning, workers cleaned up shards of broken glass and boarded up windows. They said it appeared a hammer was used.

For the men and women on the other side of the broken glass, business operated as normal.

One recruiter said there have been other incidents — but Friday’s vandalism was the worst.

“It stopped us for five minutes, to report this to upper command,” the recruiter said, who declined to give his name because he was not authorized to speak with the media. “Then, it was business as usual.”

The shattering of windows on Friday followed anti-war graffiti at the National Military Heritage Museum in May 2007.

Frank Flesher, museum director, said a National Guard recruiting billboard next to the museum was tagged with “Feel the Death.”

He said volunteers and a Boy Scouts Troop cleaned paint off World War I and Korean-era military equipment — but Friday’s incident will cost the taxpayers.

“What they’re doing is, they’re cowards,” Mr. Flesher said. “They’re hiding behind the darkness, causing the damage, but they’re not willing to come out and be in public.”

Ahmad Safi can be reached at ahmadsafi@npgco.com.