Man planted a 17-foot white cross on property he owns for fallen memorial

MILITARY: Man seeks network of crosses to honor veterans

By RICK ROGERS For the North County Times
Posted: Friday, February 3, 2012

Don Vierstra of Murrieta stands next to a cross he erected on his own land near Interstate 15. Photo by Rick Rogers

Don Vierstra is an affable guy.

But the smile slides from his face when talking about the Camp Pendleton cross and efforts to remove it for arguably not squaring with the Constitutional separation of church and state.

"I just couldn't believe what they want to do," said Vierstra, 76, a Murrieta resident whose nephew survived a bomb attack while serving in Iraq. "Why would somebody not like it?"

The Pendleton cross rose on Veterans Day in tribute to those wounded or killed in combat. The site has since become a shrine and reports are that another cross might have been added.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State, along with the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, wants it removed.

This troubled Vierstra and roused him to action.

"When I see something wrong, I think, 'What can I do?'"

Last week, Vierstra planted a 17-foot white cross on property he owns along the west side of Interstate 15 in Murrieta, near the I-215 split.
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