Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/18pdf/17-1717_4f14.pdf
Page Number: 3

Cite as:  588 U. S. ____ (2019) 

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Syllabus 

tinguished  Service  Cross  and  the  Navy  Cross in 1918 and 1919, re-
spectively.    And  the  fallen  soldiers’ final resting places abroad were 
marked  by  white crosses or Stars of David, a solemn image that be-
came inextricably linked with and symbolic of the ultimate price paid 
by 116,000 soldiers.  This relationship between the cross and the war 
may not have been the sole or dominant motivation for the design of 
the many war memorials that sprang up across the Nation, but that 
is all but impossible to determine today.  The passage of time means 
that  testimony  from  the decisionmakers may not be available.  And 
regardless  of  the  original  purposes  for  erecting  the  monument,  a 
community may wish to preserve it for very different reasons, such as 
the  historic  preservation and traffic-safety concerns noted here.  The 
area  surrounding  a  monument like the Bladensburg Cross may also 
have  been  altered  in ways that change its meaning and provide new 
reasons for its preservation.  Even the AHA recognizes that the mon-
ument’s surroundings are important, as it concedes that the presence 
of a cross monument in a cemetery is unobjectionable.  But a memo-
rial’s  placement  in  a  cemetery is not necessary to create the connec-
tion  to  those  it  honors.  Memorials took the place of gravestones for 
those  parents  and  other relatives who lacked the means to travel to 
Europe  to  visit  the  graves  of  their  war  dead  and  for  those  soldiers 
whose  bodies  were  never  recovered.   Similarly, memorials and mon-
uments  honoring  important historical figures e.g., Dr. Martin Luther 
King,  Jr.,  often  include  a  symbol  of  the  faith that was important to 
the persons whose lives are commemorated.  Finally, as World War I 
monuments  have  endured  through  the  years  and  become  a familiar 
part  of  the  physical  and  cultural  landscape, requiring their removal 
or  alteration  would  not  be  viewed  by  many  as  a  neutral  act.    Few 
would say that California is attempting to convey a religious message 
by  retaining  the  many  city  names,  like  Los  Angeles and San Diego, 
given  by  the  original  Spanish  settlers.    But  it  would  be  something 
else entirely if the State undertook to change those names.  Much the 
same  is  true  about monuments to soldiers who sacrificed their lives 
for this country more than a century  ago.  Pp. 21–24. 

(c) Applying  these principles here, the Bladensburg Cross does not 
violate  the  Establishment  Clause.   The image of the simple wooden 
cross that originally marked the graves of American soldiers killed in 
World War I became a symbol of their sacrifice, and the design of the 
Bladensburg  Cross  must  be  understood  in  light of that background.  
That  the  cross  originated  as  a  Christian  symbol  and  retains  that 
meaning  in  many  contexts  does  not change the fact that the symbol 
took on an added secular meaning when used in World War I memo-
rials.    The  Cross  has  also  acquired  historical  importance  with  the 
passage of time, reminding the townspeople of the deeds and sacrific-