Crosses of Lafayette: Vigil Tonight

Photo by Karen Allen

Tonight at 5:00 PM in Lafayette, California there will be a candle light vigil at the hillside across from BART where the memorial of painted crosses honors the U.S. Troops killed in Iraq. At this moment, the sign is being updated to record the 3,000th death.

The Los Angeles Times confirmed the tragic milestone this afternoon at 12:04 PM PST.

The controversial memorial was begun the weekend of Veterans Day and the first sign read "In Memory of 2,839 U.S. Troops Killed in Iraq." The sign has been the subject of vandalism and a contentious town hall meeting.

On Christmas Day, the town awoke to find that red ribbons had mysteriously been placed on each of the more than 800 crosses.

The Crosses of Lafayette honor the fallen warriors but the not war.