It’s been 100 years since WWI ended. Now SCOTUS will decide if this veterans’ monument can still stand

As well as Veterans Day, this November 11 also marks the centennial anniversary of the armistice that ended the First World War. And while the guns of that terrible war have been silent for a century, the legal battle to preserve the public memorials of those killed in the conflict rages on.

In a story that was largely covered up by election news of the past few weeks, the fight to preserve the Maryland “Peace Cross” monument to 49 American souls lost in that war will head to the Supreme Court, which agreed to take up the case late last week.

The case is was originally brought against the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission — the state entity that maintains the cross — by the athiest American Humanist Association. The commission is being represented by former U.S. Solicitor General Neal Katyal. The American Legion, a party to the lawsuit, is represented by the Texas-based First Liberty Institute.

“For nearly 100 years the memorial has stood to honor these 49 sons of Prince George’s County who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country,” American Legion lead counsel and First Liberty network attorney Michael Carvin told the Washington Post. “The Supreme Court should not allow their memory to be bulldozed.”

You can find out more about the lawsuit’s origins, arguments, and previous rulings in last year’s Veterans Day episode of the Capitol Hill Brief.

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