Crosses of Lafayette: BART

Photo by John Eaton

At the San Francisco Chronicle, Jason B. Johnson posted this article today about the Crosses with video and photos by Carlos Avila Gonzalez:

A controversial Iraq war memorial in Lafayette reached an emotional milestone Sunday, when a group of volunteers added 290 new crosses to the site so there were enough symbols to represent each of the 3,170 American soldiers killed in Iraq since the start of the war. (The count by the Associated Press reached 3,173 late Sunday.)

About 50 people hammered nails, painted the crosses and planted them under a clear blue sky. In clothes flecked with white paint, many smiled and chatted while others worked quietly.

A group opposed to the war has expanded its stark display overlooking the Lafayette BART Station over the past several weeks -- gathering in cold weather and at times staging candlelight vigils. Several members said blanketing this green hillside with a sea of crosses, Stars of David and Muslim Crescents has reinvigorated their sense of civic activism.