Meditation: A Cross in the Desert

From a press release issued by the Thomas More Law Center:

Admiral Jeremiah Denton was a Vietnam POW for nearly eight years. Suffering severe mistreatment, he became the first U.S. military captive to be subjected to four years of solitary confinement. He first came to the public’s attention in 1966. After being tortured and threatened with more torture and even death if he did not “correctly” answer the questions posed, he was televised in front of Communist dignitaries with the purpose of having him admit to American atrocities. Instead, Admiral Denton replied, “Whatever the position of my government is, I believe it, I support it, and I will support it as long as I live.”

[snip]

Admiral Denton feigning sensitivity to harsh camera lighting, looked into the camera lens and blinked his eyes in Morse Code spelling out the message ‘T-O-R-T-U-R-E.’ Thus, he provided Naval Intelligence the first confirmation that American POWs in Vietnam were being tortured. [See archived original footage of then Commander Denton's heroic statement and his blinking of a Morse code signal.] Further, as spokesperson for the first group of returning POWs in 1973, as he stepped from the plane he was asked to make a statement on behalf of the group. He turned to the microphones and said, “We are honored to have the opportunity to serve our country under difficult circumstances. We are profoundly grateful to our Commander-in-Chief and our nation for this day. God bless America.”

Last Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme court heard oral argument in a brief filed by the Thomas More Law Center in defense of an eight-foot metal cross on Sunrise Rock in California’s Mojave Desert that was erected in 1934 by Veterans of Foreign Wars. The Law Center’s brief was filed on behalf of Rear Admiral Jeremiah Denton and the families of two marine majors killed in action in Iraq, Michael D. Martino and Gerald Bloomfield, III. The sacrifices of these war heroes are preserved by plaques located beneath another memoral cross, also under attack by the ACLU, at the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial in San Diego. The Law Center is actively involved in defending the Mt. Soledad cross as well.

The ACLU wants the war memorial crosses removed and has so far succeeded in having the Mojave desert cross hidden from public view by an appallingly disrespectful wooden slab, that, the Law Center says, is an "affront" to Christians. That's putting it mildly.


According to Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel for the Law Center:

The ACLU hates crosses as much as vampires hate crosses or the daylight. Despite their claims to the contrary, this case is part of the ACLU’s national agenda to incrementally remove every cross on public land. Their guiding principle is "out of sight out of mind." The Court’s ruling in this case will impact crosses in thousands of memorials nationwide.

Admiral Denton told of his experiences as a downed Navy pilot imprisoned in North Vietnam in a book, When Hell Was in Session (1976). Singer/songwriter Ray Boltz wrote a tribute to Admiral Denton's courageous words, "An Honor to Serve." Here is a link to a moving video incorporating Boltz's song and footage of Jeremiah Denton returning home (at about 4:30 to 5:10). Lyrics incorporating Admiral Denton's words are here.

If the bravest of the brave desire to be memorialized under crosses, and if those crosses offer solace to the bereaved families of our nation, what possible business is it of the ACLU to "protect" the eyes of passers-by from remembrance of their sacrifices?

Thousands of heroes deserve our support, including the 130,000 brave men and women serving today in Iraq and the 68,000 brave troops serving today in Afghanistan. All our warriors, living and dead, deserve and should have the support of the American people, including our American courts.
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