RUSS REPORT - The eleven-year legal battle, Salazar v Buono, over the Mojave Desert Cross has finally been settled.
As I reported in CityWatch on a number of occasions, the case began in 1999 and focused on a single cross that had stood in a remote area of the 1.6 million acre Mojave Desert Preserve since 1934. John Riley Bembrey, a medic in World War I erected the Cross in memory of his fallen comrades but died in 1984. Henry Sandoz and his wife, Wanda, friends of Bembrey, have resumed its care until today.
A federal judge has approved a settlement that would effectively honor the trade agreement between the Sandoz’s and the Government in 2002, where 5 acres of Sandoz land was swapped for the 1-acre parcel where the Mojave Cross stood. The swap would now be an agreement between the Sandoz’ and the National Park Service. In turn, the Sandoz’ would donate the parcel of land to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) in Lenwood/ Barstow, CA. The VFW would maintain the site as a War Memorial from here on.
The Court battle over this cross has been going on since 1999 and has been the subject of several pieces of legislation over the years but for nearly 70 years prior, the cross stood without any Court challenges. In 2001, Frank Buono, a former National Park Service employee and a Roman Catholic, filed a suit claiming an “Establishment Clause” violation.
In 2002, the District Court held that Buono ‘has standing because he was “subjected to an unwelcome religious display, namely the cross” and ordered the cross to be removed.
The land was transferred pursuant to a Congressional designation.
It was not until October 7, 2009, that the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on two issues: “1. Whether an individual has Article III standing to bring an Establishment Clause suit challenging the display of a religious symbol on government land and 2. If the Act of Congress directing the land be transferred to a private entity is a permissible accommodation.”
In a 5-4 decision on April 28, 2010, the Supreme Court gave its approval for the Mojave Cross to remain standing at Sunrise Rock in the Mojave Desert Preserve. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote, “A Latin cross is not merely a reaffirmation of Christian beliefs. Here, a Latin cross in the desert evokes far more than religion. It evokes thousands of small crosses in foreign fields marking the graves of Americans who fell in battles, battles whose tragedies are compounded if the fallen are forgotten."
Kennedy further maintained, “Even though the Court may not reconsider whether Buono had standing to seek the 2002 injunction, it is still necessary to evaluate his standing to seek application of the injunction against the land transfer statute. That measure of relief is embodied in the judgment upon which we granted review. This was a measure of relief that Buono had standing to seek. A party that obtains a judgment in its favor acquires a ‘judicially cognizable’ interest in ensuring compliance with that judgment.”
Kennedy reversed the Court of Appeals and remanded the case back to the Lower Court “for further proceedings.”
Just two weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to protect the Mojave Desert War Memorial, thieves, wantonly, stole the cross from its perch atop Sunrise Rock. On May 10, 2010, a Park employee noticed the cross was missing and noted that it had been removed sometime through the night. An anonymous caller to the Barstow Dispatch News claimed that while he did not tear down the monument, he knew who did. The caller gave the reporter a written explanation from the person allegedly responsible for the theft.
Liberty Institute, which represented the Sandoz’, the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (VFW), The American Legion, Military Order of the Purple Heart, and the American Ex-Prisoners of War posted a reward for its return, but no one ever collected it.
Within a week of the theft, Sandoz had rebuilt another Cross to erect in its place but was prohibited to do so as long as the litigation continued. So, he built a “portable” five-foot Cross that the Community could use for their yearly services at Easter.
For the past two years, armed with his “portable” Cross, Sandoz and the Community held their traditional Easter Sunrise Services at Sunrise Rock where the original eight foot Cross had once stood for decades.
Wanda Sandoz was thrilled with the decision handed down by the Court. “As soon as the NPS gives us permission, Henry has already rebuilt a Cross that he will erect on the site,” she said.
(Katharine Russ is an investigative reporter. She is a regular contributor to CityWatch and to the North Valley Reporter. Katharine Russ can be reached at: [email protected] ) –cw
Tags: Katharine Russ, Russ Report, Mojave Desert Cross, Supreme Court
CityWatch
Vol 10 Issue 34
Pub: Apr 27, 2012
