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A cross of contention in the desert

Henry and Wanda Sandoz at the cross on Sunset Rock in the Mojave National Preserve. The cross, erected in 1934 as a tribute to World War I veterans, was stolen, but the Sandozes plan to raise a new one on the site.

Henry and Wanda Sandoz at the cross on Sunset Rock in the Mojave National Preserve. The cross, erected in 1934 as a tribute to World War I veterans, was stolen, but the Sandozes plan to raise a new one on the site.   (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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The superintendent of the Mojave National Preserve had little reason to think that an exchange regarding a World War I memorial built in 1934 would spur a 13-year saga full of litigation, vandalism, political theater and theft.
See Thomas Curwen’s story, “A Mojave Desert cross brings a lot of things to bear”

A cross covered up

In this photo from April 20, 2003, Jacob Overson, 16, walks near a covered-up cross after Easter sunrise services at the Mojave National Preserve. When a judge in Riverside ruled that the cross couldn’t be displayed, it was wrapped in a tarp that was fastened, Houdini-style, at the base by chain and a padlock.   (Christine H. Wetzel / Associated Press)

An empty spot

Ken Layne of Yucca Valley photographs the spot on Sunrise Rock where the WWI memorial cross stood.   (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

A new cross in the wings

Henry Sandoz hefts a new cross that he made out of 5-inch-diameter pipe. With friends and supporters, he hopes to paint and raise it atop Sunrise Rock by Veterans Day.  (Thomas Curwen / Los Angeles Times)

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