A Memorial Day display in Hiram, Ga., highlighted by 79 handmade crosses was removed after a single complaint,
the Washington Times reports.
The crosses, one for each fallen soldier in the county, were taken down because not all 79 of the soldiers who died were Christian.
"It opened our eyes that we missed something here, and we immediately took corrective action," to remove the crosses, City Manager Barry Atkinson
told WSB-TV in Paulding County, Georgia.
Hiram Mayor Teresa Philyaw, who planned and approved the crosses, told a local TV station it was never about religion.
"It was just to honor them," Philyaw
told Fox Atlanta. "At the time, it never, ever crossed my mind about the religious factor in it. … The cross is a 'rest in peace' symbol to me."
The city council voted unanimously Tuesday night to put the crosses back up.
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