Liberty Institute Responds To Attack On Indiana Veterans Memorial, Represents Well-Known Wood Sculptor

LIBERTY, Ind., Sept. 16, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, Liberty Institute on behalf of its client, well-known wood sculptor Dayle K. Lewis, responded to a demand letter sent to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources by an anti-religion group that attacked Indiana's newest veterans memorial as unconstitutional because it includes a small grave marker in the shape of a Latin cross. The new veterans memorial is the most recent addition to Whitewater Memorial State Park in Liberty, IN, a park dedicated to the veterans of World War II from the surrounding counties.

To view a copy of Liberty Institute's response letter online please follow this link:  http://libertyinstitute.org/whitewater

"These relentless attacks on the nation's veterans memorials have to stop," said Roger Byron, Liberty Institute Senior Counsel.   "The display of this incredible memorial in Whitewater Memorial State Park—which is itself a veterans memorial—clearly is lawful.  As a veteran myself I want to thank the State of Indiana for honoring its veterans and remembering those who served."

The new memorial is complex and multi-faceted, composed of a giant eagle atop an immense perch, a life-sized U.S. Marine in dress uniform, the Flag of the United States, the Flag of the State of Indiana, and a combat soldier kneeling beside the grave of a fallen comrade marked with a small cross-shaped grave marker.  Immediately above the grave marker are the words "All Gave Some[,] Some Gave All."  The Park contains several other memorials and markers that honor military veterans, as well.

As Liberty Institute's letter explains,"[b]y all accounts the small cross on the new memorial depicts a historically accurate grave marker symbolizing the burial site of a fallen soldier.  Considering the new memorial's history, purpose and context, the memorial and its permanent display in the Park are well within the bounds of the Establishment Clause."

This memorial joins a growing list of veterans memorials across the country that have come under similar attack.

Liberty Institute is a national nonprofit legal group dedicated to defending and restoring religious liberty across America — in our schools, for our churches, inside our military and throughout the public arena. Liberty's vision is to reestablish religious liberty in accordance with the principles of our Founding Fathers. For information, visit www.LibertyInstitute.org.

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SOURCE Liberty Institute