KNOXVILLE, Iowa — The Americans United for Separation of Church State has asked the City of Knoxville to remove a display featuring a cross from a public park. 

City Manager Harold Stewart told the Journal-Express that he received a complaint several weeks ago from a resident who was offended by the display which shows the silhouette of a soldier kneeling in front of a cross. According to Stewart, the unidentified resident saw it as a violation of the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

“I informed the individual that while it is a cross that is commonly used as a religious symbol, in this instance it represents the grave of a fallen soldier (of which there are literally thousands on Federal property in Arlington cemetery) and therefore would not be removed at my directive,” Stewart wrote in an email. “The individual then informed me that a complaint would be filed with a national organization that fights these types of issues.”

Received Monday, the letter from the AUSCS cites a 2014 case involving a similar monument in Lake Elsinore, California. 

“The Lake Elsinore monument portrayed a solider with his head bowed, kneeling before a Latin cross,” the letter reads. “Even if they Latin cross was intended to depict a tombstone, the court explained, a memorial featuring ‘a Christian grave… may lead observers to believe that [the government] is only honoring Christian veterans.”

Stewart informed the Knoxville City Council of the AUSCS’s request at Monday night’s council meeting.

The future of the display, which is a part of a Freedom Rock monument at Young’s Park, will be on the next regular council agenda. 

Residents in favor of keeping the cross as part of the display plan to hold a rally at the park on Aug. 30.

Steve Woodhouse writes for the Journal-Express in Knoxville, Iowa.