The Crosses of Lafayette

New Web Site

noreply@blogger.com (Eschew Obfuscation) — Mon, 10 Nov 2014 23:47:00 +0000

Check out the new web site for the Crosses of Lafayette.

New Video from RockBridge Productions

noreply@blogger.com (Eschew Obfuscation) — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 17:05:00 +0000

Crosses in New York Times - October 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Eschew Obfuscation) — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 13:40:00 +0000

The Crosses of Lafayette project was started almost four years ago by Jeff Heaton, a local building contractor, to recognize American service members who were killed in Iraq. The white markers of the antiwar site dot the hillside and are easily viewed from Highway 24. Read more in the New York Times.

Iraq War - 6th Anniversary

noreply@blogger.com (Eschew Obfuscation) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 19:40:00 +0000

Photo by John Eaton

The Contra Costa Times reported on the Lafayette Crosses Memorial.

As Iraq war continues, Lafayette Crosses becoming part of the landscape
By Paul Thissen
Contra Costa Times
Posted: 03/19/2009 06:05:28 PM PDT

The steep path of steps is worn into the dirt of the Lafayette hillside, meandering between thousands of white wooden crosses.

It was not there when Jeff Heaton started pounding the crosses into the ground in November 2006 to symbolize the American troops killed in Iraq.

That was one of the bloodiest periods of the war. The crosses sparked protests, against the war and against the monument itself. They attracted vandals. A battle was fought before the City Council about whether they should stay.

Now, as violence has waned, vocal debates have subsided.

The crosses become part of the consciousness of thousands of commuters who see them from BART or drive past them on Highway 24 each day. Traffic
reporters use them as a landmark. They are known far and wide; people from other regions who meet Lafayette's city manager say, "Oh, that's the town with the crosses."

"I think that they're really part of our community now," said Louise Clark, the 83-year-old Lafayette resident who owns the hillside. "Now I want the acceptance to turn into a concern about why they're there."

On Thursday, the sixth anniversary of the beginning of the war in Iraq, organizers held a vigil at the crosses, a few months after President Barack Obama was elected in part on a campaign promise to withdraw troops from Iraq.

New crosses are still being put in twice a month.

While Obama is set to withdraw troops from Iraq, he has also said that he will increase the number of troops in Afghanistan. Crosses organizers decided last year to add crosses for troops killed in Afghanistan, as well, bringing the total to more than 4,000.

"I'm hoping that we don't have to have any more crosses up there, but so far that has not happened," Clark said.

Heaton sees Afghanistan and Iraq as two parts of the same war, helping ensure that the monument will endure, he said. But the wooden crosses will not last forever, and the memorial's form
Related Link

"I have many visions of it maybe being a memorial garden where many artists donate their own vision of a memorial to the soldiers who have sacrificed," he said.

Jim Minder sees the display differently — as an insult to soldiers and their families.

He is the co-founder of the Lafayette Flag Brigade, which welcomes soldiers arriving home. The group protested the creation of the crosses; Minder calls it a "mock monument" because those who created it oppose the war.

"You've got to look at the people," he said. "They're against every war. They don't pick good or bad wars."

The vocal protests have stopped, Minder said, because the city is committed to letting the crosses stay, he said.

City officials required cross organizers to shrink the sign displaying the number of troops killed in Iraq. The City Council also changed city law to limit the number of signs on a parcel, so a new display like the crosses would be illegal. Since the crosses were already there, the new law did not affect them.

The city continued to receive letters and phone calls about the crosses after the council debates were done, City Manager Steve Falk said. "The call volume peaked both when the council was in the middle of making the land-use decisions and when the war was at its most controversial."

Now they have trickled off to nearly nothing, he said.

Most military families still oppose the monument, Minder said. Those who like it, he added, should consider the antiwar views of those who created it.

Heaton disagrees.

Military families are some of the people who appreciate the monument most, he said.

"It's become a really legitimate memorial," Heaton said. "People come by and express a lot of gratitude that they have something like this to visit and look at."

Sometimes those people are veterans, he said, and they are often the most grateful.

In the long run, Minder's fear for the crosses resembles Heaton's hope.

"One thing can start out as a mock memorial and it can turn into a real memorial," Minder said. "That's what I was worried about."

Full Moon - November 13, 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Eschew Obfuscation) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 00:21:00 +0000

Photo by John Eaton

Tending an Orchard of Grief

noreply@blogger.com (Eschew Obfuscation) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 00:15:00 +0000

From the Los Angeles Times
ON CALIFORNIA: ESSAYS FROM THE GOLDEN STATE
Tending an orchard of grief
'The Crosses of Lafayette,' planted on an East Bay hillside for U.S. war dead, evoke gratitude, fury and resignation.
By Peter H. King

November 10, 2008

Reporting from Lafayette, Calif. — As they emerge from a tunnel cut beneath the Berkeley Hills, Bay Area Rapid Transit trains hauling eastbound commuters home from San Francisco enter a landscape of low hills and tight valleys, shaded by oaks and pines and filled with winding blocks of well-maintained houses.

It is a pleasant enough slice of California, this cluster of small, leafy communities in Contra Costa County, a place where youth sports dominate weekends and school fundraisers tend to succeed; where one of the latest civic initiatives was a vigorous campaign to persuade motorists to slow down.

A few miles down the line, the trains pull in to the elevated station that serves the town of Lafayette. It is at this point that passengers are confronted with a sight that seems jarringly out of place with the pastoral suburban tableau -- a hillside covered with white crosses.

There are thousands of them, each about 3 feet high, scattered from the sidewalk of Deer Hill Road to the brow of the low, broad hill. "In Memory of Our Troops," proclaims a large billboard, halfway up the hill.

In large block numerals, easily seen by BART passengers and motorists on Highway 24, which runs parallel to the tracks, the sign also keeps count of the number of U.S. service members who have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

From the start "The Crosses of Lafayette," as the volunteers who maintain the display call it, has provoked a wide and evolving set of emotions.

"It is a shrine for some people, and it is a protest for other people," said Louise Clark, an 83-year-old widow and longtime Lafayette resident who allowed this arresting orchard to be planted on her land.

Two years ago, when the project began in earnest, there was outrage from those who saw the effort not only as an antiwar protest but as one that mocked the price paid by U.S. war dead. In one publicized incident, a former U.S. Marine tore down the sign: "My first reaction," she explained, "was 'What a disgrace to those who have sacrificed.' "

Over time, though, these counter-demonstrations died down. The crosses almost seem to have settled into the landscape, attracting a mix of curious passersby, peace activists, veterans of other wars -- some supportive, others upset -- and friends, families and war comrades of the fallen.

More than a few families have adopted individual crosses, inscribing on them the names of their deceased and decorating them with photographs, flowers, poems, stuffed animals and other trinkets.

Karen Meredith is one. Her only son, Lt. Ken Ballard, a 26-year-old Army tank commander, was killed in 2004. When she heard about the crosses, she recalled, "I was very happy about it, and I could not understand why people would find this offensive. If children are dying in their names, they should understand it and see it every day."

None of this is to suggest that the display has won universal acceptance. "A lot of people around here don't like it," said 51-year-old Neil Kelly, "but they put up with it." He and other volunteers, who gather every other Sunday to plant crosses, repair old ones and groom the hill, still endure sporadic taunts and middle-finger salutes from passing motorists.

"I can see their point," said Clark, the property owner. "It upsets them to drive by and see all those crosses. Well, it upsets me, too. But that is what happened; it's real. Each cross represents someone who has died over there."

The force behind the project is Jeff Heaton, a 55-year-old construction contractor. His parents were close friends of Clark and her husband, who died a year ago. Heaton approached the Clarks in spring 2003, during the early "shock and awe" phase of the Iraq invasion. He received their permission to plant 19 crosses. These were ripped out the first night. He replanted, but with the same result.

"I was disheartened," he said.

More than three years passed before he was persuaded to try again -- by then, the body count was nearing 3,000. In November 2006, with help from assorted peace organizations, Heaton resumed planting crosses, beginning with an initial batch of about 300.

This quickly led to a noisy showdown at City Hall, where opponents of the project failed to persuade the city to step in and abort the project. The city's position was that the crosses were signs and, being less than 4 feet tall, fell under what City Manager Steven B. Falk called "the Realtor's exemption" -- an ordinance meant to facilitate the placement of residential "for sale" signs.

"Our entire analysis was content-free," Falk said.

That did not translate into controversy-free. After the council's unanimous decision to allow the cross project, City Hall was flooded with protest calls and letters. Falk keeps one tacked to his office wall: "You sir," it proclaims, "are un-American and spit on the real graves of our brave soldiers, who have died to defend your right to make a fool of yourself and bring shame on your city in the process."

Such letters, Falk said, have since "tapered off to zero."

Heaton, too, took heat early on. He stood toe to toe with a father who objected to his son's name being placed on a cross. After that confrontation, it was decided that names would be posted only when families requested it. Heaton also removed any signs he considered overtly political, including one that proclaimed the hillside to be "Bush's Garden."

A soft-spoken man and rail-thin, Heaton chooses words with care as he discusses the crosses. Asked if he considered them a war protest or a memorial to the fallen, he paused a few beats before answering.

"It is difficult," he said finally, "to divide that out. I consider it a peace memorial. The point is to sort of in a neutral way show the true impact or effects of the war so that people can work that through in their own way."

He said he's not sure how long the crosses will stay up. That will depend, he said, on the course of the war. Even with a new administration to take command shortly, he's not convinced the conflict, especially in Afghanistan, will wind down soon.

"This could go on for a very long time," he said. "Unfortunately."

As Heaton spoke, volunteers were preparing to plant new crosses made of plastic foam, instead of wood -- an adjustment meant to make the hillside less prone to fire as it grows more congested. A few months ago, the organizers decided to add Afghanistan casualties, creating considerable catch-up work for the cross-makers.

"We are about 600 behind," said Craig Cataline, a 54-year-old carpenter.

This was a few days after the usual Sunday work party. Cataline had come alone to the hillside to perform a particular chore. The father of a Navy medic who has seen combat in Iraq and whose best friend is represented by one of the crosses, Cataline each week updates the sign's death count, which stood at 4,801.

The stocky man followed a well-worn footpath up the hill, carrying a portable screwdriver in one hand and two replacement numerals in the other. As he reached the sign, he stood on the slope and surveyed the forest of crosses.

"I originally saw this as a protest," he said, "but in my own mind I didn't want these kids to be forgotten. Whether you believe the war is folly or not, these poor kids gave their lives for America."

As he spoke, morning traffic hummed by on Highway 24, and a westbound train pulled into the Lafayette station, loaded with commuters bound for jobs in the city.

Cataline extracted several long, wooden screws. He slid out panels that contained a "0" and a "1," replacing them with a "2" and a "4." The number on the sign was now 4,824 -- the total had grown by 23. He reinserted the screws.

"That's it," he said. "That's what I do."

The task had taken him all of three minutes, but the implications . . .

King is a Times staff writer.

peter.king@latimes.com

Memorial Day 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Eschew Obfuscation) — Thu, 29 May 2008 03:53:00 +0000

Click to enlarge

Memorial Day 2008 at The Crosses of Lafayette. The sign reads 4084 - the number of U.S. Troops killed in Iraq up to that date.

Tony Thurmond

Tony Thurmond is running for California State Assembly. He is endorsed by George Miller and by the Contra Costa Times. Tony spoke at the Memorial Day vigil at the Lafayette Crosses.

Crosses of Lafayette: 4065

noreply@blogger.com (Eschew Obfuscation) — Thu, 15 May 2008 05:58:00 +0000

Click to enlarge
Photo by Colette Swim-Headley, May 13, 2008

Cross posted on Eschew Obfuscation.

Memorial Day Vigil

noreply@blogger.com (Eschew Obfuscation) — Tue, 06 May 2008 19:34:00 +0000

Memorial Day Vigil

Monday, May 26, 2008 7:15PM

We will gather to honor those who have lost their lives in this immoral war, grieve the continued violence and destruction in the region.

PLACE: Crosses of Lafayette

Corner of Deer Hill and Oak Hill Road. Across from Lafayette BART

DIRECTIONS: From Oakland/ Berkeley: Take the 24 to the Oak Hill Road exit. Turn left. Turn left again on Deer Hill. You will soon see crosses site on your right. From Concord/ Walnut Creek: Take 24 to Central Lafayette exit. Turn left on Deer Hill Road. You will soon see crosses on your right. BART parking lot is on your left. Or take BART.

Please no candles

Please use crosswalks

Video from the Instant Vigil

noreply@blogger.com (chr15) — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 04:35:00 +0000

Here is a wonderful video from the contra costa times of Monday's Vigil to commemorate the now 4000 troops who have died. Sound and some clips of the wonderful song written about our memorial, "Memorial Day," written and performed by Laura Zucker.

4,000

noreply@blogger.com (Eschew Obfuscation) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 17:06:00 +0000

4,000 casulties; instant vigil today

noreply@blogger.com (chr15) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 07:11:00 +0000

this info was sent to me from baika. the instant vigil to commemorate 4,000 U.S. troops who have fallen in iraq will occur today at 6pm:

Hello all,

Thank you for signing up for the instant vigil list. We will gather at the Crosses of Lafayette tomorrow evening March 24th at 6pm to commemorate the 4000 America soldiers who have died in the Iraq War. We have not yet planned the agenda.

PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILIES TO COME BY FORWARDING THIS POST.

Thank you,

http://icasualties.org/oif/

U.S. Deaths Confirmed By The DoD:
3992
Reported U.S. Deaths Pending DoD Confirmation: 8
Total 4000
DoD Confirmation List

abc7news covers 5th anniversary of war vigil

noreply@blogger.com (chr15) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 17:48:00 +0000

abc news covered the vigil held wednesday night for the 5th anniversary of the war. they report that only 20 volunteers could make it. there post contains the video from the wednesday night broadcast. click watch video in the flash player at the top of the post to see it.

Here's a part of the transcript from the video that we should all reflect on:

John Jensen from Kennsington came to honor his nephew, a casualty of war, after he returned home.

"When he returned he killed himself," said Jensen.

Jensen says American soldiers were attacked by suicide bombers and while trying to protect themselves they also killed innocent people.

"And so they tell them to stay back, don't come any closer, they don't understand English, so they would just kill them," said Jensen.

He wonders how many American soldiers are facing the same moral struggle his nephew faced.

"We all have a mindset of who we are and what our values are and the military tries to change that so that you can do what they need you to do, and it doesn't change forever. People flashback and they want to be who they were when they left," said Jensen.

url: http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local&id=6031212

5th Anniversary of War - Vigil Tonight

noreply@blogger.com (chr15) — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 18:34:00 +0000

There will be a vigil at the crosses tonight marking the 5th anniversary of the Iraq war. Details:

There will be a vigil at the Crosses of Lafayette form 5-8pm. Lynn M. is the point person.

PLEASE REMEMBER...

NO CANDLES, BRING A FLASHLIGHT

USE THE CROSSWALKS

TELL A FRIEND

THIS WILL BE A PEACEFUL VIGIL WITHOUT A PLANNED PROGRAM

Also the instant vigil when US troop casualties have reached 4,000, is still in the works, stay tuned for details.

Instant Vigil When 4,000 Have Died

noreply@blogger.com (chr15) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 06:25:00 +0000

3988 American men and women in service have lost their lives in Iraq. When that number reaches 4,000 the crosses memorial organizers plan to hold an instant vigil to for the fallen and to bring the rest of the troops home.

Jeff and Baika wrote in an email:

Hi All,

Just wanted to remind those of you who signed up for instant vigil detail (if you are able to avail yourselves) that we do plan an instant vigil when we reach 4000. Normally we go by www.icasualties.org but we'll go with the flow of the media, should that come in sooner. The count is 3988 as of Saturday. We are paying close attention to this and we also realize that this number is not accurate and that we surpassed the 4000 mark long ago. This number is what the Gold Star Moms go by. We are formulating a plan for the evening at the moment to begin at 6PM.

We do not have anything planned for the anniversary date. We did not want to compete with the march in WC event, but are currently talking about having a quiet vigil at the Crosses on Wednesday evening. Stay tuned.

If you are interested in attending the instant vigil please message me at christopheaton[at]gmail[dot]com and I will forward your request to the main memorial organizers

Award Winning Multimedia

noreply@blogger.com (chr15) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 05:36:00 +0000

On Sunday March 16th the San Jose Mercury News announced that several of its pieces won awards in the 65th Annual Pictures of the Year International Competition including first place for the multimedia news story, Hillside display of crosses: A war of emotions by the talented photo journalist Pauline Lubens .

Created in May, the peace is a wonderful collage of video, photos, and voice over interviews with people for and against the war and the hillside memorial. It does a good job of recounting the beginings of the memorial, early vandalism, the pro-war rallies held against the memorial and contains many voices supporting or deriding the memorial. It truly is one of the best pieces I've seen and I recommend everyone watch it:
www.mercurynewsphoto.com/blog/2007/05/28/a-hillside-display-of-crosses-a-war-of-emotions/

On a tangential note, I would like to point out one voice who's derision does not deride from her feelings about the war. Rather she thinks the crosses representing death have no public place in a wholesome community like Lafayette. This harks back to one of my interests when starting this blog, what does the presence of the memorial mean for and about an affluent suburban community?

Rep George Miller at the Memorial

noreply@blogger.com (chr15) — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 09:26:00 +0000

From last summer, Rep George Miller comes to the crosses memorial to reflect on our fallen soldiers, our failed pointless war, and pressuring congress to bring them home.

Sign Ordinance?

noreply@blogger.com (chr15) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 09:17:00 +0000

A interesting little slice of lafayette from spring '07 when a few people tried to make the city council take down our memorial by saying they violated sign ordinances that prevented businesses from putting up to many ads. i like the discussion of lafayette's history of "protecting" its hillsides, i am not sure if it stems from land slides or property owners wanting to keep things scenic.

crosses on 10 seconds of french tv!

noreply@blogger.com (chr15) — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 02:09:00 +0000

Theres a lot of great youtube videos featuring the crosses (at least 32!). I'll be posting them over the next couple of weeks but you can find them now on favorited on my lafayette crosses youtube page.

This one is a french tv segment on lafayette (the name is french, i guess) and the last 10 seconds show our memorial contre le guerre. If anyone can translate the video, it would be great to post

originally posted by stevenfalk

Call for Links

noreply@blogger.com (chr15) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 23:55:00 +0000

To all the fans of the crosses out there,

I'm going to do something I've meant to do for a long time and collect all the wonderful videos, photos, and posts that people have made about the crosses and repost them myself to this blog. You'll be able to find them by clicking on the citizen media link in the navigation bar above.

So if you have something regarding the lafayette crosses hillside iraq war memorial online or know of something please post the link in the comments!

Thanks for your support!
-chris

Presidents Day Vigil 02/18/08

noreply@blogger.com (chr15) — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 21:22:00 +0000

KTVU has a segment on last nights vigil.

I unfortunately was not there but Janine de la Vega of KTVU reports there were roughly 70 people there. They reminds us to remember the war and its fallen even when we are distracted by the economy and presidential elections. 3961 military men and woman have died since the war began. Another vigil is being planned when the number of casualties reaches 4000.

Watch video on ktvu.com

Crosses - January 28, 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Eschew Obfuscation) — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 22:22:00 +0000

Click to enlarge

Cross posted at Eschew Obfuscation.

Crosses Vigil Feb 18th 5pm

noreply@blogger.com (chr15) — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:54:00 +0000

Interfaith Vigil

Monday, February 18, 2008 5:00PM

Fellowship for peace. Sing for peace.

PLACE: Crosses of Lafayette

Corner of Deer Hill and Oak Hill Road. Across from Lafayette BART

DIRECTIONS: From Oakland/ Berkeley: Take the 24 to the Oak Hill Road exit. Turn left. Turn left again on Deer Hill. You will soon see crosses site on your right. From Concord/ Walnut Creek: Take 24 to Central Lafayette exit. Turn left on Deer Hill Road. You will soon see crosses on your right. BART parking lot is on your left.

Speakers:

Rev. Will McGarvey

Rev. Will McGarvey is pastor at Community Presbyterian Church, in Pittsburg, CA. He is the Chair of the Justice, Advocacy and Caring

Committee of the Presbytery of San Francisco, and also the Vice-

President of the Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County.

Dr. Amer Araim
is adjunct professor of the Middle East and political science at Cal State University at San Francisco and Diablo Valley College. He is a former Iraqi diplomat and United Nations staff member. He serves on the Executive Committee of the Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County and is Imam at Dar-ul-Islam Mosque in Concord. He is a resident of Walnut Creek.

Rev. Baika Andrea Pratt

Rev Baika Pratt coordinates the volunteers for the Crosses Project. She is a Soto Zen Buddhist priest from the Berkeley Zen Center and Central Valley Zen Center, a Hospice worker and leads the Mt Diablo Zen Group in Pleasant Hill.She is a resident of Martinez.

Stuart Berman

TBA

Song Leader(s):

Erin Stokes Oliver
&
TBA

Sponsored by:

Crosses of Lafayette
Mt. Diablo Peace & Justice Center
Lamorinda Peace & Justice Group
Buddhist Peace Fellowship

Christmas Eve 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Eschew Obfuscation) — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 18:05:00 +0000

Click to enlarge

November 11, 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Eschew Obfuscation) — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 01:20:00 +0000

The "Crosses of Lafayette" project was started back on Veterans Day in 2006. Veterans Day is an American holiday honoring military veterans. Both a federal holiday and a state holiday in all states, it is celebrated on the same day as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day in other parts of the world, falling on November 11, the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. (Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice.)

Here is a picture from December 1, 2006 when the number of troops killed in Iraq was 2,885.

December 1, 2006

Now the number is higher by more than 1,000 heroes.

November 11, 2007

In Lafayette, California, we are trying to make a difference. And we owe a debt of gratitude to Louise Clark.

Louise Clark