OFF THE WIRE
MILITARY: Pentagon to decide fate of Camp Pendleton memorial
A cross stands on a hilltop at Camp Pendleton. Controversy has surrounded the memorial, which consists of two crosses, since an atheist group demanded they be removed.
Read more: http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/military/military-pentagon-to-decide-fate-of-camp-pendleton-memorial/article_6af4e31a-efec-5ea1-b9dc-f9d25c033dd8.html#ixzz1hTKem66t
A lone Marine laden with a 70-pound pack trudged 3,000 feet up a steep Camp Pendleton hillside on Wednesday, repeating a trek thousands like him have made to a memorial for fallen troops that includes a pair of large Christian crosses.
The unidentified Marine was encountered by a group of journalists descending from the site after their first chance to see the memorial since a controversy erupted over whether the crosses should be removed.
A military atheist group and others are demanding the symbols high above the base's Camp Horno come down, arguing they are universally recognized icons and as such are an unconstitutional endorsement of the Christian religion on publicly owned land.
The memorial cross at Camp Pendleton on Wednesday. Photo by John Koster - For The North County Times
No decision is expected this week. Base officials have made a recommendation to their bosses in Washington, but refuse to say what they believe should be done.
The site is home to numerous mementos, as well as the crosses, neither of which is visible from nearby Interstate 5.
Each is surrounded by thousands of rocks carried up by Marines from sea level at Camp Horno as a homage to troops killed in Iraq or Afghanistan. Many of those rocks have hand-scrawled messages of love and remembrance.
There are dozens of bottles of booze, most unopened, representing a dead Marine's favorite drink.
There's a football, a still-working watch, pictures of fallen Marines and numerous ID tags from those who didn't make it back alive.
Rosaries, pairs of boots, cigarette packs and lighters also have been left by troops who take the steepest possible route up the hill.
They choose that path as tribute to those they climb to remember. The intensity of the hike, a base spokeswoman said, is viewed as nothing compared to "the ultimate sacrifice" made by the troops who have died.
It's quiet on the hilltop.
The only sounds Wednesday were from the wind, muffled noise from the roads below and soft echoes from live-fire exercises taking place miles away on the 125,000-acre base.
From far below at Camp Horno, the crosses are barely visible, blending in with a series of utility poles that dot the hillside.
The first cross put up in August 2003 burned down in a 2007 wildfire. Several of the troops involved in that effort were later killed in fighting in Iraq.
The cross was replaced in 2008, placed about 60 feet from the original site.
The dispute over the memorial erupted shortly after Veterans Day, when some of the men who erected the first cross put up a second at the original site, an endeavor chronicled in a newspaper article and photographs.
The article drew the attention of a group called the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, an advocacy group based in Washington that works on behalf of atheists in the armed services.
The association and other groups that champion the separation of church and state have petitioned Camp Pendleton to remove the crosses.
Numerous Christian-based groups and others have lined up against them, arguing they are in no way an inappropriate part of the memorial.
Valley Center's Jennifer Tully, who lost her Marine husband to suicide and was with the group that put up the cross on Veterans Day, agrees with those who want the crosses to stay.
"It's a memorial site to everyone and no one is forced to go up there," said Tully, who also carried a small, rolled up U.S. flag to the top of the hill that day. "It's a place where troops and family members can go and honor the memories and grieve for the losses they have suffered. I know we put our heart, soul and tears into getting that cross up there."
The man who ignited the dispute, Jason Torpy of the Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, said Wednesday he stands by his demand they come down.
"This can be fixed today unless the Marine Corps is going to insist on having government promotion of Christianity," said Torpy, a 10-year veteran of the Army and a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Torpy has been bombarded with hate mail, threats and telephone calls from people outraged at his insistence the crosses be removed.
He and his group, which claims several thousand members, say the site can stay as a memorial, suggesting the crosses be replaced with the Marine Corps globe and anchor, or some other appropriate but nonreligious symbol.
He's also calling for an investigation into why some commanders have been allowed to march their troops to the site and conduct Christian services.
Pentagon regulations forbid the military from promoting any religion. The Department of the Navy also has a formal process for designating memorials, which was not followed for the hilltop memorial.
The man who dedicated the first cross was Maj. Gen. John Toolan, who is now in Afghanistan overseeing Marine Corps forces as the on-ground commander of the II Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Toolan was a regimental commander as a colonel in 2003, and a plaque at the site notes he formally dedicated the cross memorial in February 2004.
He has not commented on the controversy and has not responded to requests for his reaction.
Camp Pendleton's recommendation on what to do was forwarded up the chain of command a few days ago.
The headquarters of the Marine Corps in Washington is weighing a final decision, one that ultimately could rest with Gen. James Amos, commandant of the Marine Corps.
If Marine Corps officials say the crosses will stay, groups opposed have threatened to sue. Groups that want no changes made have offered to provide free legal services to defend the crosses.
The unidentified Marine was encountered by a group of journalists descending from the site after their first chance to see the memorial since a controversy erupted over whether the crosses should be removed.
A military atheist group and others are demanding the symbols high above the base's Camp Horno come down, arguing they are universally recognized icons and as such are an unconstitutional endorsement of the Christian religion on publicly owned land.
The memorial cross at Camp Pendleton on Wednesday. Photo by John Koster - For The North County Times
The site is home to numerous mementos, as well as the crosses, neither of which is visible from nearby Interstate 5.
Each is surrounded by thousands of rocks carried up by Marines from sea level at Camp Horno as a homage to troops killed in Iraq or Afghanistan. Many of those rocks have hand-scrawled messages of love and remembrance.
There are dozens of bottles of booze, most unopened, representing a dead Marine's favorite drink.
There's a football, a still-working watch, pictures of fallen Marines and numerous ID tags from those who didn't make it back alive.
Rosaries, pairs of boots, cigarette packs and lighters also have been left by troops who take the steepest possible route up the hill.
They choose that path as tribute to those they climb to remember. The intensity of the hike, a base spokeswoman said, is viewed as nothing compared to "the ultimate sacrifice" made by the troops who have died.
It's quiet on the hilltop.
The only sounds Wednesday were from the wind, muffled noise from the roads below and soft echoes from live-fire exercises taking place miles away on the 125,000-acre base.
From far below at Camp Horno, the crosses are barely visible, blending in with a series of utility poles that dot the hillside.
The first cross put up in August 2003 burned down in a 2007 wildfire. Several of the troops involved in that effort were later killed in fighting in Iraq.
The cross was replaced in 2008, placed about 60 feet from the original site.
The dispute over the memorial erupted shortly after Veterans Day, when some of the men who erected the first cross put up a second at the original site, an endeavor chronicled in a newspaper article and photographs.
The article drew the attention of a group called the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, an advocacy group based in Washington that works on behalf of atheists in the armed services.
The association and other groups that champion the separation of church and state have petitioned Camp Pendleton to remove the crosses.
Numerous Christian-based groups and others have lined up against them, arguing they are in no way an inappropriate part of the memorial.
Valley Center's Jennifer Tully, who lost her Marine husband to suicide and was with the group that put up the cross on Veterans Day, agrees with those who want the crosses to stay.
"It's a memorial site to everyone and no one is forced to go up there," said Tully, who also carried a small, rolled up U.S. flag to the top of the hill that day. "It's a place where troops and family members can go and honor the memories and grieve for the losses they have suffered. I know we put our heart, soul and tears into getting that cross up there."
The man who ignited the dispute, Jason Torpy of the Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, said Wednesday he stands by his demand they come down.
"This can be fixed today unless the Marine Corps is going to insist on having government promotion of Christianity," said Torpy, a 10-year veteran of the Army and a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Torpy has been bombarded with hate mail, threats and telephone calls from people outraged at his insistence the crosses be removed.
He and his group, which claims several thousand members, say the site can stay as a memorial, suggesting the crosses be replaced with the Marine Corps globe and anchor, or some other appropriate but nonreligious symbol.
He's also calling for an investigation into why some commanders have been allowed to march their troops to the site and conduct Christian services.
Pentagon regulations forbid the military from promoting any religion. The Department of the Navy also has a formal process for designating memorials, which was not followed for the hilltop memorial.
The man who dedicated the first cross was Maj. Gen. John Toolan, who is now in Afghanistan overseeing Marine Corps forces as the on-ground commander of the II Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Toolan was a regimental commander as a colonel in 2003, and a plaque at the site notes he formally dedicated the cross memorial in February 2004.
He has not commented on the controversy and has not responded to requests for his reaction.
Camp Pendleton's recommendation on what to do was forwarded up the chain of command a few days ago.
The headquarters of the Marine Corps in Washington is weighing a final decision, one that ultimately could rest with Gen. James Amos, commandant of the Marine Corps.
If Marine Corps officials say the crosses will stay, groups opposed have threatened to sue. Groups that want no changes made have offered to provide free legal services to defend the crosses.
Call staff writer Mark Walker at 760-901-4080.
Read more: http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/military/military-pentagon-to-decide-fate-of-camp-pendleton-memorial/article_6af4e31a-efec-5ea1-b9dc-f9d25c033dd8.html#ixzz1hTKem66t