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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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Posted on 12/14/2002 5:50:27 AM PST by SAMWolf
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are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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| Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. We hope to provide an ongoing source of information about issues and problems that are specific to Veterans and resources that are available to Veterans and their families. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support.
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MOJAVE NATIONAL PRESERVE, Calif. -- On a remote ridge known as Sunrise Rock, a five-foot cross erected long ago as a makeshift war memorial has survived harsh desert climates and recurring attacks by vandals. But soon it may be toppled for good by a more powerful force: the Constitution. Meanwhile, Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.), whose district includes the sparsely populated communities of the Mojave, is trying to make the court decision moot with an unusual land swap. To keep the cross standing, Lewis is proposing legislation to transfer an acre of the public land that surrounds the site to private interests. In exchange, a local landowner would donate five privately owned acres within the boundaries of the vast desert preserve to the federal government. The deal may be taken up early by the next Congress.  Longtime residents here say a World War I veteran who was a local miner erected the cross in 1934. Back then, it was two pieces of wood nailed together and stuck into the desert sands. It has nearly been destroyed many times, either by nature or desert pranksters. For the past 20 years, its caretakers have been Henry and Wanda Sandoz, an elderly couple who live in the Mojave. They raise the cross whenever it falls and repair it when it gets damaged. Its latest incarnation is two metal pipes that have been welded together and bolted to a concrete base. Wanda Sandoz, a retired school bus driver, said her husband cares for the cross -- and is determined to keep it standing -- because the man who first raised it in the desert asked him to make it a lasting memorial to veterans shortly before he died. "My husband made a promise to one of his best friends," she said. "We'll do anything we can to keep the cross up. I can't imagine anyone taking offense to this. Maybe I could understand this debate if someone had tried to put it up recently. But it's been there for so long, and no one ever complained." Sandoz said the cross serves a religious purpose only once a year, on Easter. "We all know what it's mostly there to honor," she said. "It's not about religion." If Congress approves Lewis's latest plan, a local Veterans of Foreign Wars post will become the steward of the cross. If the ACLU prevails, Sandoz vowed to continue having solemn gatherings there. "We would keep doing it even if one of us had to carry a cross up there every time," she said. "We can't imagine what it would be like not see it there after all this time.'
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(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Good thinking, Sam. :-)
JEN! Victoria! We need tank cover over here!
I got em in my sites!
Smack!
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