Palm Desert City Council Unanimously Supports Peace Pole
PALM DESERT — With a 5-0 vote, the Palm Desert City Council opened the city’s collective arms to erecting a Peace Pole in the mid-valley city.
On March 28, the City Council voted unanimously to place the Peace Pole near the Rose Garden in Civic Center Park. The garden is at the corner of San Pablo and Fred Waring Drive close to City Hall. Near the pole will be a tile with the engraved name “Robert Miller Army Veteran.”
Miller, a resident of Rancho Mirage, died in 2023. He was a member of the Palm Desert Greens Democratic Club and the Jewish temple in Palm Desert. He was a member of Veterans for Peace.
The city is currently awaiting the pole’s delivery, which may take up to a month, Thomas Soule, public affairs manager, said.
This will be the first Peace Pole in Palm Desert. AMVETS will pay less than $400 for the Peace Pole. AMVETS already paid $50 for the tile.
The Palm Desert Greens Democratic Club wrote a support letter and donated $100 for this project. The Peace Pole will say “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in four languages plus a braille plate. The languages are English, Spanish, Hebrew and Arabic. Arabic is the language of the Palestinians.
There are two Peace Poles in Desert Hot Springs, one in Palm Springs and one in both Mecca and Thermal. There is also a Peace Pole in Joshua Tree. AMVETS also dedicated the Peace Pole at Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C.
In explaining the significance of Peace Poles, Tom Swann-Hernandez, AMVETS Post 66 Commander, said, “Europe is involved in the first land war since World War II. Thousands of people have been killed in Ukraine. Thousands of people have died in the war between Israel and Hamas. The Hamas attack in October killed the most Jews since the Holocaust. The Palestinians lose a child in the war in Gaza every eight minutes. The Virgin Mary at her monthly apparitions at Medjugorje has been telling her children to pray for peace.”
Image Sources
- 2023 Peace Pole: Tom Swann Hernandez