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The Lafayette Hillside Memorial is a collection of religious symbols accompanied by a huge sign in Lafayette, California. The memorial honors servicemen lost in the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan, with the sign displaying a running number of the death toll as recorded by the US Department of Defense. The memorial sparked criticism in November 2006.
No one imagined the number of crosses increasing to 8000 and beyond, or the pile of bodies rising higher and higher.
Many of the items placed have become old, rotting, and worn, but they remain strong reminders of love and remembrance.
Louise Clark, 81, widow of Johnson Clark, owned the hillside until her death. Johnson Clark was a local developer and a WWII soldier. The memorial was built in late 2006 by Jeffrey Heaton, a long-time anti-war activist, and Louise Clark. The first 19 crosses were quickly removed by vandals.
In November 2006, the number of crosses combined with Stars of David, Islamic crescents, and other religious symbols surpassed 2,500.