MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy

Parents of Fallen War Hero To the President: Save The Mt. Soledad Cross

• Posted by Beth on May 25th, 2006 filed in ACLU, General, Petitions, Politics, Support the Troops, Support this    

Parents of Fallen War Hero To the President: Save The Mt. Soledad Cross (reprinted with permission)

ANN ARBOR, MI – “There is no better place to honor our fallen heroes than under that cross, overlooking the country they fought and died to preserve.” These were the words of the parents of Marine Captain Michael D. Martino who was killed in action in Iraq, contained in a May 15, 2006 letter to President Bush, urging him to save the Mt. Soledad Cross.

Here’s more about Capt. Martino from Arlington Cemetery.

On November 2, 2005, Captain Martino was killed when his Cobra helicopter was shot down by a surface-to-air missile. This past week, Captain Martino’s Camp Pendleton Unit—a Marine air squadron that had just recently returned from Iraq—dedicated plaques at Mt. Soledad to honor him and his fellow pilot, Major Jerry Bloomfield, for their heroic service. Over three hundred fellow Marines stood in line for over three hours to meet and pay their respects to Robert and Sybil Martino, the parents of Captain Martino.

Captain Martino’s father told the Thomas More Law Center, “I cannot express the sincere feeling of emotion we felt for our heroes and those Marines. We were truly glad that there was a place where you felt such peace under the cross, which overlooked the beautiful country they died to protect.”

But the ACLU doesn’t think Mr. and Mrs. Martino should have that right.

“In bitter irony, the very freedoms Captain Martino and Major Jerry Bloomfield died to protect are being perverted by the ACLU and atheists to deprive them and their grieving families the honor and solace they deserve,” said Richard Thompson, President of the Thomas More Law Center, a public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which has been working around the clock to save the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial.

Law Center trial counsel Robert Muise, a former Marine officer and veteran of the first Persian Gulf War, commented from first hand experience, “I am deeply moved by the sacrifices made by men like Captain Martino and the thousands of others in our armed services. I have witnessed them myself. Unfortunately, while these brave men and women are heroically fighting to protect our Constitution, the ACLU and activist judges are taking it apart. For the sake of our fallen veterans, we must fight to keep this memorial intact. Our veterans deserve it.”

Damn right they deserve it.

As a result of a lawsuit brought by atheist Philip Paulson, with the help of the ACLU, on May 3, 2006, Federal District Judge Gordon Thompson ordered the City of San Diego to remove the cross within 90 days or face fines of $5,000 per day. The removal of this cross and the concomitant destruction of this national veterans memorial will be a national tragedy and an affront to the many proud Americans who gave the ultimate sacrifice for this Country. One grieving family’s story tells it like it is.

This isn’t just some cross stuck somewhere; it’s a monument, a veterans’ memorial. Don’t those who have given their lives to protect our freedoms deserve some of that freedom themselves? Nobody’s forced to go to that memorial or observe Christianity, but countless families are like the Martinos and deserve the option. Just like you deserve the option to have a memorial service at a church or synagogue, or in a pool hall, if that’s what you want. How DARE these people try to deny it?

The May 15, 2006, letter urges President Bush to take the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial under federal ownership and preserve the cross. The letter stated, “Our son loved his country and the many rights and liberties it provided . . . . Our son died with a strong belief that he was fighting to preserve the freedom of all Americans. Please let us have OUR freedom from activist judges and their personal interpretation of our Constitution.”

For further information on the Mt Soledad Cross controversy you may visit the Thomas More Law Center website at www.thomasmore.org. Please sign the petition on the website urging President Bush to save the Mt. Soledad Cross and Veterans Memorial.

Stand up for the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial. Sign the petition!
Text of the petition:

Dear President Bush,

In 2004 Congress passed a law designating the land on which the Mt. Soledad Cross stands and the granite memorial walls surrounding it as a National Veterans Memorial.

You once stated in a letter dated May 22, 2001 that you considered the Mount Soledad Cross and Veterans Memorial as a “…place to reflect on our past, be inspired by true American patriots, and offer war veterans our heartfelt gratitude for the freedom we all enjoy today.”

On May 3, 2006 a Federal District Judge ordered that the Mt. Soledad Cross be removed within 90 days.

In order to save the Mount Soledad Cross and Veterans Memorial, I respectfully urge you to direct your Secretary of the Interior to immediately begin legal proceedings to take the subject land under the federal government’s power of eminent domain.

Please sign it and spread the word.

More articles related to the Mt. Soledad Veterans’ Memorial:

• San Diego City Council votes to appeal cross ruling
• Mayor Appeals To White House To Save Mt. Soledad Cross
• House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter’s letter to President Bush (PDF)
• Judge threatens fine to enforce ‘91 ruling
• San Diego Still Fighting for Cross
• Mount Soledad Veterans’ Memorial site

Tags: Mount Soledad, veterans, memorial, mount soledad cross, Thomas More Law Center, TMLC, eminent domain, Captain Michael D. Martino, military, religion