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Services pull back from Christian festival

The Air Force and Army have pulled back from a Memorial Day weekend celebration with a strong religious association.

The Washington Post first reported the story Friday, after both services issued statements regarding their participation in the Christian festival.

Stone Mountain Park in Atlanta, Ga., will put on Task Force Patriot Salute to the Troops on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The event is to be part Memorial Day observance, part evangelical Christian celebration. Laser shows and rides will mix with Christian music and speakers, such as the Rev. Peter Marshall.

Both the Army and Air Force had promised a presence at the event. Event sponsor Task Force Patriot, a group whose stated goal is “sharing the fullness of life in Jesus Christ with all U.S. military,” distributed promotional materials describing hourly flyovers including B-2 Spirit bombers, military displays and a performance by the Army’s Silver Wings parachute team.

But on Wednesday, members of Americans United for Separation of Church and State intervened. In a letter to Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and acting Army Secretary Peter Geren, the group said the services had “crossed the line” by taking part in an “unabashedly religious event.”

“A reasonable observer, upon examining the promotional materials ... could not help but believe that the Army and Air Force fully support and endorse the Christian substance of the celebration,” said a copy of the letter posted on the AUSCS Web site.

Read the letter

The Army quickly issued a statement saying the Silver Wings would not be performing, according to the Post report. Army officials could not be reached for comment.

The Air Force had been tied more closely to the event, which was billed by Task Force Patriot and the base newspaper at Robins Air Force Base, Ga., as an official Air Force 60th anniversary celebration. Dobbins Air Reserve Base, near Atlanta, initiated Air Force participation in the event, and the service was listed as an event co-sponsor.

A statement from the Air Force on Friday, though, said the service is not a sponsor, and that Air Force displays, aircraft and a band will be present, “consistent with our participation in other Memorial Day activities across the nation.”

Air Force spokesman Dewey Mitchell said the service was initially unaware of Task Force Patriot’s religious affiliation when planning the event, though Stone Mountain Park is Christian-affiliated as well.

“It’s still an official Air Force event, it’s just gotten back on the proper track,” Mitchell said. “The religious activity that will occur at the park will be totally separate from the Air Force and any military that will be involved.”

The incident may come back to bite the services. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation issued a statement on Friday saying it is preparing to sue the Defense Department over “the likely countless Constitutional violations” related to military evangelizing. The group, headed by Air Force Academy graduate Michael Weinstein, centered its announcement on the Stone Mountain Park event.