MOJAVE DESERT CROSS - WW1 VETS

The American Legion has written President Obama asking him to restore the Mojave Desert Cross. The Supreme Court recently ruled that the cross, which stands in memorial to World War I veterans, could stay reversing a lower court's decision. However, shortly after the court rendered its decision the cross was stolen.

Here's part of a news release from the American Legion regarding the letter.

"It is time for the President to intervene and restore this tribute to our World War I veterans which stood as a testament to their sacrifice for over 75 years," Hill said. "After its reaffirmation by the highest court in the land, its clandestine removal by thieves cries out for its immediate replacement."

This spring, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled lower federal courts' decisions to tear down the memorial because of a misplaced belief that it was a religious icon on federal land. Soon after the ruling, the memorial was ripped down and carried away by vandals.

"This act was abhorrent and constitutes a federal crime under the Veterans' Memorial Preservation and Recognition Act of 2003. And it defies the rule of law, flouting a binding decision of the U.S. Supreme Court," the letter states. "If Arlington National Cemetery were similarly desecrated, that desecration would be rectified immediately, and rightly so. Unfortunately, however, the National Park Service and the Department of Justice are refusing our request to replace the stolen memorial."

The letter goes on to state that the National Park Service hasn't restored the memorial because it is complying with a lower court order, which in their interpretation, the Supreme Court decision did not fully address. Henry Sandoz, the caretaker of the memorial for the last 26 years, has built an exact replica of what was torn down and is ready to reinstall it.

"This impasse is at a point where we now need your intervention as our nation's leader, Mr. President, on decisive action to direct restoration of the memorial to its original form," the letter reads. "It is in your power to direct the National Park Service and the Department of Justice to immediately restore the Memorial. And, on behalf of our nation's veterans, we humbly ask you to do so, as Commander in Chief and as the sole officer constitutionally charged to take care that the laws are faithfully executed."

Anyone who wants to sign their name onto the letter can do so here, at Put the Cross Back