Mojave Memorial Cross

Coordinates: 35°18′53.4″N 115°33′1.4″W / 35.314833°N 115.550389°W / 35.314833; -115.550389

The boarded-up cross in 2006.

The Mojave Memorial Cross is a cross formerly on public land in the Mojave desert that was at the center of the Salazar v. Buono legal case before the U.S. Supreme Court.^[1][2][3] The original cross was erected in 1934 to honor those killed in war.^[4] The cross has been maintained by volunteers^[5] and was reconstructed after being destroyed.^[5] It was boarded up after lower court rulings declared it illegal because of separation of church and state constitutional concerns.

On April 28, 2010, the US Supreme Court ruled on Salazar v. Buono in a 5-4 decision that the cross may stay but also sent the case back to a lower court.^[6] The high court ruled there was no violation of the separation of church and state when Congress transferred the land surrounding the cross to a veteran's group.^[6] Writing for the majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote, "The goal of avoiding governmental endorsement [of religion] does not require eradication of all religious symbols in the public realm".^[7]

As of May 10, 2010, the cross is no longer in place atop Sunrise Rock. It was stolen on the night of May 9–10, 2010.^[8][9][10] National Park Service spokeswoman Linda Slater said a $125,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the thieves. The VFW promised that the memorial will be rebuilt."This was a legal fight that a vandal just made personal to 50 million veterans, military personnel and their families," said National Commander Thomas J. Tradewell.^[11]

Location

The cross was placed on Sunrise Rock, a granite outcropping adjacent to Cima Road about 12 miles south of Interstate 15, and 6 miles north of Cima, California; the trailhead leading to Teutonia Peak is immediately across the road from the rock. The area is a saddle between Cima Dome and the Ivanpah Mountains, both of which are part of the Mojave National Preserve. ^[12]

History

The cross was erected in 1934.^[5] The current caretakers of the spot were introduced to it by a prospector named John Riley Bembrey, who served as a medic in World War I and was one of the veterans who established the monument.^[5]

Theft

Linda Slater said that the wooden cover which had covered the cross since 2002 was reported missing on May 8, 2010, and that the cross itself had been seen on May 10 but was reported missing on May 11 by rangers who had returned to the location.^[13] The theft was condemned by representatives Howard McKeon, Jerry Lewis and Ken Calvert.^[13]

The Desert Dispatch was contacted by someone claiming to have a message from the person who removed the cross.^[14] The message claimed that the cross had not been damaged or destroyed but moved by a veteran who objected to the cross being on public land.^[14] The message also claimed that a non-sectarian memorial had been brought to the site, but that unspecified technical difficulties prevented it from being put in place of the cross.^[14] On June 1, the Liberty Institute publicly offered in the Desert Dispatch to take back and care for the cross at a church in Yucca Valley,^[15] but two weeks later, the person who stole the cross had not yet responded.^[16]

On May 20, 2010, park rangers discovered that a replica of the cross stolen 10 days earlier was now bolted to the base of the original. Park personnel removed it and placed it into evidence. Mojave National Park spokesperson, Linda Slater, said that since the replica is not the original disputed cross, it had to come down. "The park service has regulations about people putting up memorials. You can't just go to a park and put up a memorial to a family member."^[17]

References

1. ^ Todd J. Gillman Liberty Legal takes up cross for religion October 4, 2009 The Dallas Morning News
2. ^ Justices Face an Unusually Diverse Caseload; Some Legal Observers Expect the Conservative Bloc to Overrule Past OpinionsPocket Docket: Supreme Court's New Season SEPTEMBER 29, 2009
3. ^ The divisive Mojave cross Opinion LA Times
4. ^ BEN GOAD [Cross comes before court] MOJAVE PRESERVE: Some argued that the sacred salute to soldiers was not constitutional. Monday, October 5, 2009 Washington Bureau Press-Enterprise
5. ^ ^{a b c d} Robert Barnes For Couple, Memorial Became a Mission September 28, 2009 Washington Post
6. ^ ^{a b} High court says Mojave cross in Calif. can stay, Washington Post, 2010-4-28.
7. ^ Supreme Court Keeps Mojave Cross Case Alive
8. ^ Jablon, Robert. "Thieves steal controversial Mojave cross". The Associated Press. Marine Corps Times. http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2010/05/ap_mojave_cross_theft_051110/. Retrieved 12 May 2010. 
9. ^ Caretakers of Stolen Mojave Desert Cross Vow to Replace It
10. ^ Vandals tear down cross that justices would not
11. ^ http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100511/ap_on_re_us/us_mojave_cross
12. ^ Beffort, Brian (2005). Afoot & afield Las Vegas & southern Nevada : a comprehensive hiking guide. Berkeley: Wilderness Press. pp. 248–9. ISBN 0-89997-357-4. OCLC 60828226. 
13. ^ ^{a b} Federal law enforcement investigating apparent theft of Mojave cross, Jessica Cejnar, The Desert Dispatch, 11 May 2010, retrieved 12 May 2010
14. ^ ^{a b c} Anonymous letter explaining cross theft sent to Desert Dispatch, The Desert Dispatch
15. ^ "New home has been arranged for Mojave Cross", Desert Dispatch Letters to the Editor, 1-June-2010.
16. ^ Offer of new home for Mojave cross goes unanswered, the Desert Dispatch, 15-June-2010.
17. ^ Replica cross in Mojave Desert will come down, Mohave Daily News

External links

• Photos of the cross