Every Sunday the organisation Veterans for Peace takes over part of the beach immediately north of the pier to put up a massive graveyard of crosses—one for each of the almost 8,000 troops killed in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Many of the crosses contain photographs of the dead and personal notes and memorabilia. Called Arlington West, the memorial is in place from sunrise to sunset and its mission, according to Veterans for Peace, is
ARLINGTON WEST—A SUNDAY MEMORIAL
The thousands of weekend tourists who descend on Santa Monica Pier and the surrounding beaches are confronted with a sobering and emotional scene.