The famous Mojave Cross — which went missing for years before it was found abandoned at a Bay Area roadside — now has a new home, safe from vandalism and the rancor of the courtroom.
And for the first time, its caretakers released the contents of the note attached to the stolen marker when it was discovered in 2012 along Skyline Boulevard above San Mateo.
The cross will be the centerpiece of a new military memorial at the museum of the Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association, on old Route 66 in the community of Goffs.
It is a successor to the cross put up in 1934 by miners and homesteaders on Sunrise Rock, in eastern San Bernardino County, as a memorial for those who fought in World War I.
That cross was maintained for years by miner J. Riley Bembry. As he got older, desert residents Henry and Wanda Sandoz took over repairing and then replacing the cross. The one now at Goffs was built by the Sandozes in the late 1990s.
In 1999, a former national parks employee joined with the American Civil Liberties Union to demand in court that the cross be removed, as it is a religious symbol and Sunrise Rock is on public land, in the Mojave National Preserve. The American Legion and other groups fought the suit, led by attorneys from the First Liberty Institute. While the suit made its way through the legal system, the cross was ordered covered from view.
The Sandozes proposed a solution, offering the government five acres they owned within the Mojave preserve in exchange for the one acre where the cross was. That land swap was also opposed by the cross’s opponents.
The case was finally settled by the U.S. Supreme Court, which on April 28, 2010, ruled the trade was legal.
But the upheaval was not yet over.
“I remember giving a tour to the cross on May 9, 2010,” said Mojave Desert museum volunteer Debbie Miller Marschke. “The next day it was stolen.”
It wasn’t until 2½ years later — Nov. 5, 2012 — that the stolen cross was recovered along Skyline Boulevard (Highway 35) just south of Highway 92. A call to a Sacramento TV station revealed its location, and it was found zip-tied to a fence along the rural road.
Hidden inside was a typed letter addressed “to America,” and signed “A simple American.” It apologized to the Sandozes for the theft.
“I took the cross mainly because I wanted people to stop yelling and to start thinking,” said the letter, whose message has never before been made public. “Instead they just started yelling louder.”
The letter asked forgiveness of the Sandozes, “I will always remain sorry that your noble act to honor your promise to Mr. Bembry was of necessity so derailed by my own attempt to act honorably.”
The recovered cross was returned to Wanda Sandoz. It was kept hidden for nearly a decade in a barn because Sandoz, whose husband had died, was afraid that it would again be stolen if displayed publicly.
A replacement cross was installed on Veterans Day 2012 at Sunrise Rock, and the memorial is now overseen by the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Marschke, who is the volunteer project manager of the new cross memorial in Goffs, met with Wanda Sandoz two years ago, and it was agreed the older cross would be donated to the museum. “I said the cross could be a part of an interpretive display to help visitors understand all of its history as well as be a memorial to all who have served in our military, both living and dead,” Marschke said. And it would be protected.
Marschke said the Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association nonprofit is seeking donations to help pay for the costs of the monument. Additionally, bricks honoring individual American military members can be purchased and added to the memorial. To contribute to the association or buy a veterans brick, go to www.facebook.com/MDHCA.
The Mojave Desert Historic and Cultural outdoor museum is about 30 miles west of Needles and 10 miles north of the 40 Freeway. It is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., but it would be advisable to call ahead at 760-733-4482 or check the website themojaveroad.org.
Sunrise Rock, now private property, is off Cima Road about 12 miles south of Interstate 15. Cima Road is temporarily closed just south of the freeway, but the monument can be reached by Zinc Mine and Kessler Peak roads from I-15’s Mountain Pass interchange.