It ‘became conspicuous by its absence.’
“It’s like a beacon of peace. When it’s on everything is tranquil … It’s a glimmer of hope for a better tomorrow.”
“The word ‘cross’ means something different to different people. To an engineer it may mean an intersection on a blueprint for a superhighway. To a child it may denote the property of addition in a mathematics problem.”
“But to the residents of Hālawa Heights living and growing in a world seemingly entombed in a constant struggle for survival, the cross holds a very special meaning.”
“Each night one such cross shines like the stars in the heavens above Hālawa Heights, and that means a lot to residents from the surrounding Camp HM Smith community. Not even a cloudy sky can shroud its luminous neon tubes from the view of passing motorists, residents and the curious.”
“The reason for the construction and practice of lighting the cross, according to Clark, started with the annual ecumenical Easter sunrise service held April 1962.”
“’As far as I know this was the first military Easter sunrise service conducted on the island. The cross remained lighted all night long through the two-Week Easter season following the sunrise service. It was the responsibility of the duty Maintenance man here to ensure that, the cross’ lights were turned on each evening,’ Clark stressed.” (Hawaii Marine, April 13, 1979)
“But sometimes they forgot, and that’s when, according to Clark. The phone at maintenance started ringing. ‘People wanted to know,’ said Clark, ‘what happened to the cross? Why isn’t it on? Even ships at sea sailing in to Pearl Harbor have called when the cross wasn’t lighted. It’s like a beacon of peace. When it’s on everything is tranquil,’ says Clark.”
“The cross, soaring 65 feet in the air, evoked such a favorable response from the local Community as Clark has pointed out, that It was decided to light the cross each evening. Since its construction the cross has become as much a landmark as a symbol of religious significance.”
“In the fall of 1969 the lights began to flicker on the cross.”
“Lieutenant General HW Buse, then commanding general, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific, (FMFPac) directed that the cross only be lighted during the Christmas and Easter seasons. His actions were a result of objections raised by an individual that the cross was in violation of the constitutional principle which calls for separation of church and state.”
“Within a few months that claim ignited a fuse among local residents and they took their case to U.S. Senator Hiram L. Fong.”
“In one letter to the senator, a citizen stated, ‘Indeed it has become something of a compensation for we residents living in the vicinity of Camp H.M. Smith, who have become the victims of an industrial complex, dynamiting and desecrating the beautiful mountains, foliage and trees, of Hawaii.’ Meanwhile the lighted cross at Camp H.M. Smith became conspicuous by its absence.”
“’Since the beginning of the year we permanent, tax-paying residents have been deprived of our right to enjoy the landmark around which we’ve built our homes and our hopes.’”
“Obviously, the pull-of-the-plug on a landmark that served faithfully as a source of hope for many, angered the local community. But, with the exception of Christmas and Easter, the cross remained dark for the next two years.”
“It was March 26, 1972 when the cross was relighted as an expression of concern for all American prisoners-of-war, and those missing-in-action in Southeast Asia by Lieutenant General William K. Jones, then commanding general, FMFPac.”
However, “On orders from the Commandant of the Marine Corps, the need to conserve energy unfortunately included discontinuing the use of outdoor lighting which was not required at Camp Smith for their combat mission, security or safety purposes. So the cross again fell prey to another crisis.”
“As in the past when the cross was turned off, the FMFPac commander received letters and queries from local residents to find out why the action was taken.”
“Marine Corps policy at that time was to illuminate the cross during Christmas and Easter, at least until the energy crunch subsided. Eventually the energy problem did ease, and the cross was relighted each night.”
“It’s a symbol toward which they have placed their faith. To the people of Hālawa Heights the Camp Smith cross is more than just a light atop Bordelon Field. It’s a glimmer of hope for a better tomorrow.” (Hawaii Marine, April 13, 1979)
“The American Civil Liberties Union and 15 individuals of various religious faiths have filed suit in Federal District Court seeking to force the Marine Corps to remove a huge cross from the military base here.” (NY Times, September 29, 1988)
“General Kelley referred to the towering cross as an ‘ecumenical memorial’’ to the marines and sailors who had died in the Vietnam War, adding that he intended the huge cross to remain in place as a ‘’nonsectarian symbol of our national resolve to obtain a full accounting of American servicemen still missing or unaccounted for in Southeast Asia.’” (NY Times, September 29, 1988)
“On Aug. 30 (1988,) Judge Thomas F Hogan of the US District Court, District of Columbia, directed that the cross be removed, although allowing a 60-day delay to appeal.”
“The decision was not appealed; however, the Marine Corps was granted a delay in execution of the judgement to permit the concurrent removal of the cross and dedication of the replacement marker and flagpole.” (Hawaii Marine, December 1, 1988)
The Camp Smith Cross was taken down on December 1, 1988 and replaced by a pedestal and a plaque. An 80-foot flagpole flies a 20-by-38-foot American flag.
Click HERE for a link to a prior summary on Camp Smith.
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