Congressman Intercedes on Behalf of Pendleton Cross

California Rep. Duncan Hunter has waded into the battle over the so-called Camp Pendleton cross -- put up by leathernecks in honor of four buddies killed in Iraq -- by asking the commander of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton to let the cross stay.

"Honoring those and other Marines with a memorial at Camp Pendleton is a fitting tribute that represents the fighting spirit of the Marine Corps and (those Marines') extraordinary personal sacrifice," wrote Hunter, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.

The cross, which was erected without official authorization, has come under fire by several groups, including Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

"We've pointed out all along that the cross does not memorialize all the men and women who serve in the armed forces," spokesman Rob Boston said. "It is explicitly a Christian symbol and the military is made up of people of many religious beliefs and no religious beliefs."

The 13-foot cross was raised on Veterans Day by several Marines, as other Marines and family members watched. A previous cross on the site burned in a brush fire in 2004.

The LA Times reported that Hunter, a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, served alongside one of the four Marines during the battle of Fallujah in 2004. Though the cross was put up specifically in memory of Maj. Ray Mendoza, Maj. Douglas Zembiec, Lance Cpl. Aaron Austin and Lance Cpl. Robert Zurheide, of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, supporters say it also honors other Marines.

According to the Times, Mendoza, Zembiec and Zurheide were part of the group that in 2004 took the original cross to the site. Austin and Zurheide were killed in Fallujah in 2004, the paper said, while Mendoza was killed in Al Qaim in 2005 and Zembiec in Baghdad in 2007.

In addition to Americans United, the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers [MAAF] and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation [MRFF] have called for removing the cross.

"U.S. Marines, and all armed forces members take an oath to protect and defend the United States Constitution and not a particular religious faith's symbol such as a cross, Star of David or Crescent Moon," MRFF founder Mikey Weinstein said. "Those brave Marines died for our country's beautiful Constitution and not as warriors for Christ or any other religion's central figure."

The American Center for Law Justice and the Thomas More Law Center say the cross should remain in place.

"The Constitution does not prohibit honoring fallen troops through the use of a historic symbol merely because that symbol also carries religious significance," wrote Jay Sekulow, chief counsel for the ACLJ. "In fact, the Constitution forbids excluding religion from every aspect of public life, precisely the goal of the MAAF and other atheist groups."