Veterans are demanding the government finally heed their calls for security around Ottawa's National War Memorial after a group of hooligans urinated on the site during Canada Day celebrations.

"It is abhorrent. It is vile. It is an insult to anyone who has ever served," Bob Butt of the Royal Canadian Legion said Monday.

On Saturday night, retired Maj. Michael Pilon captured pictures of several men defacing the Ottawa monument after the holiday fireworks.

Dr. Pilon, who served with the Royal Canadian Dental Corps, said most of the crowd reacted with cheers and laughter.

However, the photos were published in local Ottawa newspapers, and people interviewed by CTV News clearly did not approve.

The legion plans to use the photos to pressure the government for increased security at the monument.

H. Clifford Chadderton, chairman of the National Council of Veteran Associations in Canada (NCVA), told CTV.ca that veterans' groups have been asking for more security since 1995 but especially since the creation of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in May 2000.

The tomb, built in front of the National War Memorial, holds the remains of an unidentified Canadian soldier who died in the First World War and represents the more than 116,000 Canadians who died in past conflicts.

"It (the incident) indicates that the government has got to do more than bring a soldier home from overseas and put him in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and then forget about him," Chadderton said.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper told an Ottawa radio station on Monday that the vandals' actions don't reflect the views of the rest of the nation.

"As you know often, people who get carried away do thoughtless things," Harper said. "Obviously, it's a terrible thing to do."

"Certainly my impression is it doesn't represent in any way the views of any segment of Canadian society," he said. "I think we all strongly honour our vets."

He said generally it's veterans who garner the largest praise from Canadians.

"I notice at all these ceremonies, the veterans always get the largest ovation of anybody, and I think that's how Canadians feel."

But Chadderton said specific action needs to be taken to protect the site.

"Put a chain fence around it so that people can't sit on it and put plaques on the corners so people can read what it's all about but not get close enough to deface it," he said.

Introducing the first two steps would also prevent the memorial site from being used for picnics, drinking and skateboarders, he said.

"When the story broke I went through my files and found all sorts of veterans' letters to the government but not even a reply (since 1995)," Chadderton said. "You cannot leave unguarded a military icon -- something as sacred as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier --where the public can sit on it and desecrate it."

The National War Memorial, unveiled in 1939, initially symbolized the response of Canadians in the First World War but has since come to commemorate the sacrifice of all Canadians who have served in times of war.

Police have contacted Dr. Pilon and have confirmed to him that charges of mischief will be laid, Ottawa Police Detective Mike Walker said.

With a report from CTV's Craig Oliver and files from The Canadian Press