Selected Article Excerpts:
- California Rep. Duncan Hunter has waded into the battle over the so-called Camp Pendleton cross — put up by leathernecks in honor of four buddies killed in Iraq — by asking the commander of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton to let the cross stay.
- The cross, which was erected without official authorization, has come under fire by several groups, including Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
“We’ve pointed out all along that the cross does not memorialize all the men and women who serve in the armed forces,” spokesman Rob Boston said. “It is explicitly a Christian symbol and the military is made up of people of many religious beliefs and no religious beliefs.” - In addition to Americans United, the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers [MAAF] and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation [MRFF] have called for removing the cross.
“U.S. Marines, and all armed forces members take an oath to protect and defend the United States Constitution and not a particular religious faith’s symbol such as a cross, Star of David or Crescent Moon,” MRFF founder Mikey Weinstein said. “Those brave Marines died for our country’s beautiful Constitution and not as warriors for Christ or any other religion’s central figure.”Click here to read full article
