Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/18pdf/17-1717_4f14.pdf
Page Number: 30

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

23 

Opinion of the Court 

  But a memorial’s placement in a cemetery is not neces-
sary  to  create  such  a  connection.    The  parents  and  other 
relatives  of  many  of  the  war  dead  lacked  the  means  to 
travel  to  Europe  to  visit  their  graves,  and  the  bodies  of 
approximately  4,400  American  soldiers  were  either  never 
found or never identified.25  Thus, for many grieving rela-
tives and friends, memorials took the place of gravestones.  
Recall that the mother of one of the young men memorial-
ized by the Bladensburg Cross thought of the memorial as, 
“in  a  way,  his  grave  stone.”    App.  1244.    Whether  in  a 
cemetery  or  a  city  park,  a  World  War  I  cross  remains  a 
memorial to the fallen. 
  Similar  reasoning  applies  to  other memorials and  mon-
uments  honoring  important  figures  in  our  Nation’s  his- 
tory.  When faith was important to the person whose life is 
commemorated,  it  is  natural  to  include  a  symbolic  refer-
ence to faith in the design of the memorial.  For example, 
many  memorials  for  Dr.  Martin  Luther  King,  Jr.,  make 
reference  to  his  faith.    Take  the  Martin  Luther  King,  Jr. 
Civil  Rights  Memorial  Park  in  Seattle,  which  contains  a 
sculpture in three segments representing “both the Chris-
tian Trinity and the union of the family.”26  In Atlanta, the 
Ebenezer  Baptist  Church  sits  on  the  grounds of  the  Mar-
tin  Luther  King,  Jr.  National  Historical  Park.    National 
Statuary  Hall  in  the  Capitol  honors  a  variety  of  religious 
figures:  for  example,  Mother  Joseph  Pariseau kneeling  in 
prayer;  Po’Pay,  a  Pueblo  religious  leader  with  symbols  of 
the  Pueblo  religion;  Brigham  Young,  president  of  the 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints;  and  Father 
Eusebio Kino with a crucifix around his neck and his hand 
raised  in  blessing.27    These  monuments  honor  men  and 
—————— 

25 See App. 141, 936; M. Sledge, Soldier Dead 67 (2005). 
26 Local  Memorials  Honoring  Dr.  King,  https://www.kingcounty. 

gov/elected/executive/equity-social-justice/mlk/local-memorials.aspx. 

27 The  National  Statuary  Hall  Collection,  https://www.aoc.gov/the- 

national-statuary-hall-collection.