Save The Mojave Desert Cross a crusade for an

historical site
AP ASSOCIATED PRESS
By ROBERT JABLON, Associated Press Writer Robert Jablon, Associated
Press Writer – By ROBERT JABLON, Associated Press Writer Robert
Jablon, Associated Press Writer –

The case concerns the Mojave Cross, northwest of

Needles in the Mojave National Preserve. The
original cross was erected in 1934 by the Veterans
of Foreign Wars as a monument to veterans of
World War I. It was designated a national war
memorial, one of 49 so-recognized by the U.S.
Congress. The American Civil Liberties Union,
representing a National Park Service employee
(Buono), brought suit contending, essentially, that
the cross is inappropriate as it only recognizes
veterans of the Christian faith, and, as it was on
federal land, that it violated the First Amendment’s
separation of church and state clause. In July of
2002 the U.S. District Court for the Central District
of California agreed and ordered the cross
removed.

The leader of Save The Mojave Cross Crusade

David J. Stewart told how the crusade got started.
He read about the case on the Internet and was
upset that a veterans memorial was threatened.
The simple desert cross was erected in 1934 by the
VF. The next year U.S. Congressman Jerry Lewis,
whose district includes Needles, inserted a land
exchange in the 2004 Defense Appropriations Act
which transferred the acre of ground on which the
cross stands to private ownership.

In April of 2005, the same court found that transfer

was a sham attempt to evade the injunction
against display of the cross. Since then, view of the
cross has been obstructed, most recently by a
plywood box. In February of 2009 the U.S. Supreme
Court agreed to review the matter. David J. Stewart
said; “I am gratified that the U.S. Supreme Court
has agreed to review the case of the Mojave Cross
veterans memorial, and I am confident that the
justices will see the simple truth that this is an
historic site honoring the sacrifices of those who
died defending our nation. “Frankly, I am
disappointed that this case has had to go this far,
and I am grateful to the American Legion and other
veterans groups who have helped ensure that it
has maintained widespread support from the
American public.”