for the past 20 years, henry and wanda sandoz have maintained the cross which, these days, is covered by a wooden box. what do you think about this box? >> this, to me, is a slap in the face to all veterans. seeing that box on there -- >> with the box on it, it's not a cross. >> reporter: the reason for the box? a lawsuit, arguing that having a cross here on federal land violates the separation of church and state. ♪ supporters of the cross say the men who put it up were not particularly religious, but saw the cross as the universal symbol of sacrifice. frank buono, a practicing catholic who used to work in the mojave national preserve, filed the suit. >> for people to argue that it's a symbol of death and sacrifice is alice in wonderland. i mean, it is a symbol of death and sacrifice only to the extent that it is a symbol of the death and sacrifice of jesus christ. this is as religious as it gets. >> reporter: the courts agreed, but then congress voted to transfer the one-acre on which the cross sits into private hands, so it could stay up. a move opponents want the supreme court to