Canadian Cross of Sacrifice Memorial

Canadian Cross of Sacrifice Memorial

On this bike ride I went back across the Potomac River to one of my favorite area places to go for long walks, Arlington National Cemetery.  And during that walk I visited the Canadian Cross of Sacrifice, which is located to the northwest of Memorial Amphitheater, across Memorial Drive (MAP).

I later learned that the memorial is comprised of the same Cross of Sacrifice which stands in every cemetery of the Commonwealth. This one commemorates the Americans who served in the Canadian Armed Forces in the First and the Second World War and the Korean War.  At that surprised me the most. I didn’t know that U.S. citizens served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF).

In 1925, Canadian Prime Minister MacKenzie King proposed a memorial to the U.S. citizens who volunteered for the Canadian Expeditionary Force and lost their lives in World War I. More than 40,000 residents of the United States (including at least 35,000 U.S. citizens) enlisted in the CEF prior to U.S. entry into the war in April 1917.  And thousands more served in the CEF in World War II and the Korean War.

The memorial’s original inscription reads: “Erected by the government of Canada in honour of the citizens of the United States who served in the Canadian Army and gave their lives in the Great War, 1914-1918.”  Following World War II and the Korean War, similar inscriptions on other faces of the monument were added to honor Americans who served in the Canadian armed forces during those conflicts.

An Offensive Protest

There is almost never a shortage of protests in D.C.  On any given day you can almost always find groups of people expressing opposition to something, or expressing support for something else.  Whether it’s a political issue, or a social justice issue, or religious in nature, or something else, protests in D.C. are commonplace.  There is even one that is permanent.  Or at least it has been for the last 40 years,  A couple of the more unusual protests I have seen over the years include a protest in opposition to male circumcision that included men dressed in all white with strategically placed blood stains and a labor dispute protest that involved an enormous inflatable rat. 

But with the exception of one by the Westboro Baptist Church the protests I have either observed or participated in over the years have been mostly respectful, regardless of whether you agree or disagree with the cause.  That is until this bike ride.  During this ride, as I was riding on the National Mall, I saw a man in the distance holding a large sign above his head.  So naturally my curiosity compelled me to ride closer to find out more.  When I got there I encountered a few men standing together.  All but one was wearing a T-shirts that would indicate they identified as Christians.  The other man was wearing what resembled military tactical clothing and gear.  But it was the message of the sign that caught my attention.  It read:  “Muhammad is a … Liar, False Prophet, Murderer, Child Molesting Pervert.”  

I chose not to stick around or engage the protestors in a discussion.  I knew that nothing productive for them or me would happen as a result.  Their protest would fail to by persuasive for anyone who disagreed with them.  If anything, even people who might agree with them in general would likely be put off by the way they were communicating their message.  So I saw this protest as being completely ineffective.  It was only offensive.