A small town in Georgia is taking down its Memorial Day display of crosses honoring soldiers from their community killed in combat because of a complaint over religious symbols on public property.

The complaint came not from the families of the fallen soldiers, but from an “unnamed resident” who took offense at the display, questioning whether all the soldiers represented were Christian.

The issue of the soldiers’ individual faiths had not occurred to town officials because they did not see the crosses as religious symbols.

Hiram Mayor Teresa Philyaw planned the display of white crosses along state Highway 92 as a way to honor the 79 Paulding County residents who died in America’s wars. She told FoxNews.com, “We wanted to make sure that they weren’t forgotten. We also wanted their families to know that our hearts still bleed for them. At the time, it never, ever crossed my mind about the religious factor in it.”

The unnamed resident who took offense at the crosses called Hiram city manager Barry Atkinson just hours after the crosses were posted. Atkinson told WSB-TV that the phone call “opened our eyes that we missed something here.” Realizing that the cross is a religious symbol, and without consulting the family members of those honored, Atkinson decided to have the memorial removed. In his words, “We immediately took corrective action.”

Fortunately, no one is taking “corrective action” at the myriad memorials around the world that use the symbol of a white cross to mark soldiers’ graves.

While crosses are forcibly removed from churches in China, American Christians still have freedom to display the image of our faith despite its alleged offense.

Just yesterday, an atheist who sued a pastor in Corpus Christi, Texas over the construction of “the tallest cross in America” admitted that his lawsuit was “baseless” and “without merit.” He has dropped his suit, and Abundant Life Fellowship will continue building this very visible reminder of their faith.