Memorial Day Crosses Removed in Hiram

HIRAM, GA -- A Memorial Day display in Hiram has been taken down because it used crosses to symbolize fallen troops.

WSB-TV reports that the display, backed by the city's mayor and other leaders, came down this week shortly after it went up.

The 79 handmade crosses were intended to represent the 79 Paulding County residents who have died while in military service.

But City Manager Barry Atkinson said his office soon received phone calls asking if the religious imagery of the display was appropriate on public property.

"It opened our eyes that we missed something here, and we immediately took corrective action," City Manager Barry Atkinson said.

He said some callers asked, "Were all those fallen soldiers Christian?"

"And the answer to that was, no, they obviously weren't," Atkinson said.

Some locals have taken to social media to call the removal of the display political correctness run amuck.

But Atkinson said none of the calls he received were nasty in nature and that some of the callers even said they would donate money to a permanent Hiram memorial if one were built.

In the mean time, WSB reports that backers of the original display are looking for private property where it might be reinstated.

To read the original report from WSB, click here.

(Image via Shutterstock)