Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today urged the United States Forest Service to reconsider its denial of a permit extension for an historically significant World War II Memorial statue of Jesus that has been located in the Flathead National Forest near Kalispell, MT since 1953. The statue, maintained by the Knights of Columbus Council No. 1328 and celebrated by the local community, sits on a 25’ by 25’ parcel of land leased from the Forest Service.
“When I visited it earlier this year, I saw first-hand that this memorial is an irreplaceable part of our state’s history and a unique and colorful part of the local culture,” said Rehberg. “The Forest Service’s denial of the lease defies common sense. Using a tiny section of public land for a war memorial with religious themes is not the same as establishing a state religion. That’s true whether it’s a cross or a Star of David on a headstone in the Arlington National Cemetery, an angel on the Montana Vietnam Memorial in Missoula or a statue of Jesus on Big Mountain. The Forest Service is just flat wrong to deny this lease on those grounds, and I’m working hard to get them to do the right thing.”
Rehberg sent a letter to Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell and Northern Region Director Leslie Weldon asking them to reconsider the recent denial of a lease renewal and requirement that the monument itself be moved by the Knights of Columbus.
In their appeal of the decision, the Knights of Columbus noted that, in its current state, moving the statue was likely to seriously damage or even destroy it. The appeal also noted the irony of attempting to remove religious references in a memorial to a war in which millions of people were murdered because of their faith.
“That memorial is to the people who built that mountain and those who served in the war effort,” said Michael Shepard, Commander of the Teddy Roosevelt American Legion Post 108 in Whitefish. “It’s not in an arbitrary location, it’s specifically tied to this community and that mountain. This Forest Service decision is a slap in the face of the men and women who served their country and built this community. When you let folks know what’s going on, they’re going to have a fit. We are tired of out-of-state interests coming into our state and imposing their believes on us when we don’t do that to them. As usual, Denny is on our side, the right side, standing with regular people in Montana. We appreciate his efforts.”
“This statue represents all the World War II vets that came home to Montana, and we erected it with the support of the Mountain division of the military.” Bill Glidden, Grand Knight of the Kalispell Council. “It’s been up there for 60 years and I’ve never heard someone in this area complain about it. It’s part of our community, not just for religious reasons, but there are also weddings and community gatherings up there. I don’t think people know that this statue is in jeopardy, and I think they’ll be upset when they find out. I’m glad Denny is helping us out.”
