They are numerous enough to notice. Infrequent enough to startle at seeing. They stimulate reverence, sorrow, sympathy, curiosity, and caution. They effect us all to one degree or another. They are the white crosses that mark the sites of fatal traffic accidents along the highways of Montana. For 75 years, these white crosses have reminded passing motorists of the dangers of the road, as well as the lives, which have been lost on the highways.
The Montana American Legion White Cross Highway Fatality marker Program began in 1953. The unique idea of marking fatal traffic accident fatality sites with a metal white cross was the brain child of Floyd Eaheart, a member of the American Legion Hellgate Post #27, Missoula, Montana; after six lives were lost in the Missoula area over the 1952 Labor Day Holiday. The safety program started out as a county and later district project for the Missoula American Legion Post. However, the idea was so good that it was soon adopted as a statewide program. The Montana Highway Commission (now Department of Transportation) approved the program in January 1953, with the blessing of the then 13th governor of Mantana, J. Hugo Aronson (the Galloping Swede). E. A. "Gene" King from Livingston was the American Legion Department Commander at that time. Louis Babb was the Assistant Adjutant for the Department of Montana American Legion during this time, and was instrumental in getting it started. He appeared before the Montana Highway Commission and convinced them to adopt the American Legion White Cross Safety Program. With this authorization, most of the 132 Montana American Legion Posts participated in the white cross program. Floyd Eaheart, the man who conceived the program, served as the state white cross chairman for the first several years.
The program is intended as a highway safety not a memorial program. Still, many families place wreaths or other docorations on the white crosses, which may be considered a memorial to a loved one lost in an accident. Obstruction of the white cross with these decorations defeats the purpost of the safety program. Attaching them below the cross on the metal pole is acceptable. The white crosses serve as a public service message, reminding drivers to "Please Drive Carefully." They are a sobering reminder of a fatal traffic accident, a place where a human being lost his/her life.
The American Legion's White Crosses can be found within the borders of Montana, along state, federal, and local highways, secondary and forest service roads and even city streets. One white cross is erected for each traffic fatality. The crosses are made of 4" metal and painted white. Each cross is 12" wide and 16" long. The white cross is supposed to be 4 to 5 feet above the ground to improve visibility and aid in road maintenance.
