Jesus symbol covered on Missouri vets memorial

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- A New York couple whose son died in Operation Desert Storm said Boone County's decision to cover a Christian symbol on a war memorial is "an affront" to basic American values.

The county commission decided this year to cover the ichthus -- commonly called the "Jesus fish" -- on the Courthouse Plaza memorial that was installed in Columbia in 1992 to honor the county's Gulf War veterans. It bears the names of two Christian men who were killed, Navy Lt. Patrick Connor and Army Reserve Spc. Steven Farnen.

Connor's parents, William and Marsha Connor, of Marcellus, New York, were told of the decision last week. Marsha Connor noted a cross and ichthus adorn her son's headstone at Arlington National Cemetery, where he was buried April 11, 1991.

"The fish symbol was in recognition of their personal faith," she said in an email, referring to her son and Farnen. "This is not an attempt to establish a governmental religion. The action changing the memorial is an affront to the beliefs upon which the United States was founded. ... Action taken by elected officials spending government funds dishonoring a veterans memorial is questionable."

County officials said they voted to cover the symbol in June after Washington, D.C.-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State threatened to take legal action against local governments that allow religious symbols on taxpayer-owned property. County Counselor C.J. Dykhouse said earlier this month the decision was made to "do the least harm" by covering the ichthus but leaving the secular memorial honoring veterans. He said the Washington organization was "satisfied with that solution."

Architect Peter Scavone, who led the fundraising effort for the memorial, said county officials "desecrated" the memorial by placing a plaque that reads "Dedicated 1992" over the religious symbol.

Patrick Connor was a 1983 graduate of Hickman High School in Columbia. He was a bombardier/navigator and co-pilot in the Persian Gulf War when his plane went down on Feb. 2, 1991.

William Connor said in a telephone interview that the memorial stood for 22 years but when an activist group complained "we suddenly cower in our boots and spend money and county time and labor" to cover the symbol.

Marsha Connor said she was angry when she first heard the symbol was covered. "Then I thought: You know what? Maybe in some respects it would do good to draw attention" to religious symbols and faith.