Legion award recognizes advocate for Bladensburg cross victory
First Liberty Institute President and CEO Kelly Shackleford presents Chris DiPompeo, partner at Jones Day, the Philip P. Onderdonk Religious Freedom Award at The American Legion 101st National Convention in Indianapolis on Wednesday, Aug. 28. Photo by Ben Mikesell/The American Legion

Legion award recognizes advocate for Bladensburg cross victory

First Liberty Institute President and CEO Kelly Shackleford’s final words during his remarks on stage at the 100th National Convention of The American Legion in Minneapolis last August were that the “Bladensburg veterans memorial is not coming down. It’s not coming down. It’s not coming down.”

He was proud to report to Legion delegates at the 101st National Convention in Indianapolis Aug. 28 that the Bladensburg World War I Veterans Memorial wasn’t coming down after a five-year fight with the American Humanist Association (AHA). The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 on June 20 that the 40-foot memorial erected by Gold Star mothers can remain on public land in Prince George’s County, Md., where it has stood since 1925 to recognize 49 Prince George’s County veterans who died during World War I. It was a landmark victory for The American Legion. And one that was helped made possible by the legal teams at First Liberty and International Law Firm of Jones Day.

Shackleford said the “mastermind behind all of our work on this case, the case that will always be referred to as 'The American Legion case,'” was Chris DiPompeo with Jones Day. For Dipompeo’s efforts, Shackleford presented him with the Philip B. Onderdonk Jr. Religious Liberty Award on the national convention stage — a gold-plated Henry Repeating rifle engraved with images of a bald eagle, the Statue of Liberty and the Liberty Bell. The award, honoring a longtime Legionnaire and past national judge advocate, is presented to someone who has done the most for religious freedom in the United States.

“The big honor of this case for me was that I was able to represent The American Legion for so many years in such a great case with a great outcome. It was a long time coming,” DiPompeo said after his award acceptance. “I’m so happy that it resulted in a win that’s a historic win. I’m so gratified to know that in the future, when people think about the Supreme Court decision that dictated what religious freedom means in this country, they’re going to be referring to The American Legion decision that we’re a part of.”

The Bladensburg memorial was funded privately and the property where it stands was in private hands when it was erected. However, now it sits on land owned by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, a governmental agency. So the AHA filed suit, claiming that the memorial violated the First Amendment.

“I’ve never been proud of to represent a client as I was for The American Legion or to be involved in a case like this,” DiPompeo said.

In closing, Shackleford reminded Legionnaires that this case also was a message from the Supreme Court that “these religious attacks need to stop.

“The American Legion, even today, is not afraid to stand for our freedoms and fight. We know that more battles are ahead, and we will be standing with The American Legion in these battles.”