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ANN ARBOR, MI – In a letter written on behalf of a Marine widow and her seven year old son, the Thomas More Law Center urged camp commander, Colonel Nicholas F. Marano, USMC, to defend the memorial cross erected this past Veterans Day at the Camp Pendleton Marine Base in California. [Click here to read letter]  The memorial cross in question was a replacement for the original cross erected in 2003 and later destroyed by a brush fire in 2007.

According to press accounts, the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers and Americans United for a Separation of Church and State have demanded that Camp Pendleton officials remove the replacement cross because it is an unconstitutional endorsement of Christianity.

To Elena Zurheide, however, the 13 foot wooden memorial cross sitting atop a steep hill has nothing to do with establishing a religion.  It has everything to do with the memory of her husband, Lance Corporal Robert P. Zurheide who was killed in 2004 during the bloody fighting in Fallujah, Iraq.  Their son Robert was born a month after his death.

The original memorial cross was carried to the top of a steep hill in 2003 by Lance Corporal Zurheide and six other Marines belonging to the 2^nd Battalion, 1^st Marine Division  as a memorial to those killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The cross quickly became a memorial marker as Marines and families of fallen Marines made the difficult hike up the hill to place items of remembrance at the foot of the cross.  They have displayed sand from Iwo Jima to remember those Marines who have gone before us, and sand from Fallujah, to remember those Marines who more recently made the ultimate sacrifice.  It is quite common to find rocks with messages, coins, dog tags, and uniform items displayed—all serving as symbols to remember a fallen family member or comrade.

Four of the seven who carried the original cross up the hill were subsequently killed in action, including Lance Cpl. Zurheide, Major Douglas Zembiec, Major Ray Mendoza, and Lance Cpl. Aaron Austin.

The last time Elena saw her husband alive was when they said good bye at the foot of the hill bearing the cross.

This year, the new 13 foot wooden cross was carried up the steep hill on November 10, the Marine Corps birthday.  Elena and her son Robie were a part of the group that took the cross to the top of the hill.  The next day, Veteran’s Day, the Cross was mounted at the exact location of the original cross. The memorial cross is dedicated to the memory of the four Marines who carried the original cross up the hill and were later killed in action.

The Thomas More Law Center is a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  It promotes a strong national defense and an independent and sovereign United States of America.  It was instrumental in defending the Mount Soledad Cross from the original attack by an ACLU attorney.  It has filed friend of the court briefs in the second ACLU attack on the cross now defended by the U.S. Department of Justice and the attack on the Mojave Desert Cross.  The Law Center also successfully defended LtCol Jeffrey Chessani, USMC, in the politically motivated court martial over action taken by Marines in his battalion in Haditha, Iraq on November 19, 2005.

Richard Thompson, the President and Chief Counsel for the Law Center, commented, “Our letter to Colonel Marano, focused on the devastating impact removing this cross will have on those who have sacrificed so much for this country.  Since the beginning of America, crosses have been used to memorialize our fallen warriors.  There may be a few atheists in foxholes as represented by the organization demanding removal of this cross, but there is no substitute for the spiritual in war as the famous Marine General John Lejeune wrote in 1929.  Removing that spirituality will impair our fighting ability.  Material resources alone will not win wars.

Continued Thompson, “The 2010 Supreme Court decision involving the Mojave desert cross may signal that the court will be more tolerant of religious symbols on public land. Justice Kennedy recognized that the cross is not merely an affirmation of Christian beliefs but a symbol often used to honor and respect heroism.

The Thomas More Law Center defends and promotes America’s Judeo-Christian heritage and moral values.  It supports a strong national defense and an independent and sovereign United States of America.  The Law Center accomplishes its mission through litigation, education, and related activities.  It does not charge for its services.  The Law Center is supported by contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations, and is recognized by the IRS as a section 501(c)(3) organization.  You may reach the Thomas More Law Center at (734) 827-2001 or visit our website at www.thomasmore.org.

ANN ARBOR, MI –  The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, yesterday filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, against the U.S. Department of State for failing to provide records in its possession concerning an insurgent attack against U.S. Marines in Haditha, Iraq on November 19, 2005.

The Law Center successfully defended Lt. Col Jeffrey Chessani, USMC, the Battalion Commander of the Marines that responded to the insurgent ambush.  The criminal charges against Chessani were dismissed on the grounds of unlawful command influence.

The Law Center’s position throughout the court martial and subsequent administrative hearing was that the prosecution of Chessani and the other Marines under his command were politically motivated and spurred on by anti-war Congressman John Murtha, now deceased.  All of Chessani’s superiors congratulated him for a job well done; that is, before the politicians got involved.

Of the eight Marines criminally charged, all have been exonerated thus far, but one.  The remaining Marine SSgt. Frank Wuterich, is scheduled for a court marital in January 2012.

On October 29, 2009, the Law Center filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act for production of records of an investigation conducted by the Iraqi government.  During a televised interview, an Iraqi official stated that her government had turned over a complete investigative file on what happened in Haditha on November 19, 2005 to the U.S. Government.  The State Department has failed to comply with the request.

At the time of the battle, Chessani was commander of Third Battalion, First Marines and responsible for approximately 2,000 American and Iraqi forces.  At about 7:15 in the morning of November 19, 2005, a squad of Chessani’s Marines was leading a convoy when it was ambushed by a road-side bomb and small arms fire from nearby houses.  The bomb detonated under a Humvee, killing one Marine and injuring two others.  An ensuing house-to-house battle between insurgents and an out-numbered 4-man Marine “fire team” resulted in the deaths of 24 Iraqis, including 15 civilians.

The decision to launch a criminal investigation of the November 19 incident was made three months after its occurrence as a result of a grossly erroneous and inflammatory Time magazine news lead, which military commanders in the field suspected was instigated by terrorist propaganda.

The political nature of the process was further reinforced when months before the investigation was completed, Congressman John Murtha, an outspoken anti-war critic and chairman of the House military appropriations subcommittee, publicly accused the four Marines of being “cold-blooded murderers” and high ranking officers of “covering it up.”  Murtha is the same person caught on tape negotiating bribes with Arab Sheiks during the FBI’s 1980 Abscam investigation—he was an un-indicted coconspirator in that case.

According to news stories, higher echelon commanders were monitoring the action as it was taking place through radio traffic and remote controlled aircraft.  Yet, none of these higher echelon commanders saw the need for further investigation.  Loss of civilian life was considered a tragic but not uncommon occurrence in a war against insurgents who purposely placed civilians in harm’s way.