Peace Cross Bladensburg, MD

The battle to save the Bladensburg Cross is still going on.

The Bladensburg Cross was dedicated in 1925 to honor 49 men from Prince George's County
that perished in WWI. The Memorial was funded by local residents and The American Legion.
It is now owned by the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission.

The Memorial is listed as a nomination on the National Register of Historic Places by the
Prince George's County Historic Preservation Committee in April 2015.  The Peace Cross
is listed as an Historic Place, but is not yet listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The American Humanist Association and three individuals filed a lawsuit in 2014 asking that
the Memorial be removed because of its implied religious nature as a Christian symbol, thus
violating their Constitutional rights. The Cross is located on property owned by the State
of Maryland; and the plaintiffs said it goes against the First Amendment.

A very brave woman Renee Green is spearheading the effort to save the Memorial. In an
interview she said "In order for people to make a decision, they had to know the history.
They have to understand it." Green went on to say "It's a WWI Memorial dedicated to the
49 men who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. It represents peace."

In January 2015 Renee Green submitted another application for the Memorial Peace
Cross to be nominated to the National Register and it was accepted.

Although the Memorial's application has been accepted this does not stop the lawsuit, so
it will continue to drag out for some time.

More information can be found at www.savethepeacecross.com
There is also an official Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Save-The-Peace-Cross/1539886132901090

Our Veterans should never have a Memorial or Monument that is dedicated to those who served
our country moved or violated in any manner. Those who served did so at the risk of
their lives, and so many did give their lives to protect our Nation.

---- Jerald Terwilliger Chairman Emeritus American Cold War Veterans "We Remember" ---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996