The Original Mojave Cross

The Mojave Memorial Cross was erected on public land in 1934 by prospectors and homesteaders who had served in World War I to honor their fallen brethren. Army combat veteran J. Riley Bembry maintained it for many years and dedicated it to the military dead of all wars through the ages. It stood atop Sunrise Rock on Cima Road in the East Mojave for over 60 years, but in 2001 became the subject of a lawsuit arguing that its location within the newly designated Mojave National Preserve violated constitutional separation of church and state. As Henry and Wanda Sandoz fought an unfavorable district court ruling, the cross remained covered by a wooden box. They arranged a land swap, trading their own five-acre inholding for one acre around Sunrise Rock, and that parcel was then donated to the VFW. On April 28, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court ratified the land exchange, ending eleven years of litigation. The original metal cross was later stolen and found abandoned two years afterward in Half Moon Bay, California, with a note of apology attached. By then, a reproduction cross had been installed at Sunrise Rock. On March 16, 2022, Wanda Sandoz donated the original cross to the Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association to create an educational display at the Goffs Schoolhouse Museum. The cross honors all veterans, memorializes the Supreme Court decision, and recognizes those who championed the Mojave Memorial Cross.

California · United States