Enlarge AP file photo The Mojave Desert cross, the subject of a tense Supreme Court case in April, was stolen. @FAITH_REASON ON TWITTER @FAITH_REASON ON TWITTER Join the conversation: Religion, spirituality & ethics | Reader forum: Your beliefs LOS ANGELES  Private caretakers are vowing they will replace the steel cross honoring American war veterans that was stolen from its rocky base in the Mojave Desert less than two weeks after the Supreme Court ruled the memorial could remain on federal land. Wanda Sandoz, who with her husband, Henry, have maintained the cross and its predecessor for more than 25 years, said she was stunned to learn Monday that thieves had cut welded bolts and made off with the cross. "Who would do such a thing?" she said. "I can't imagine the type of person that would do this. I don't know that type of person." The Veterans of Foreign Wars, which first placed a wooden cross on the rock in 1934 to honor troops killed in World War I, has offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of those responsible for the theft. VFW National Commander Thomas Tradewell called the theft a "desecration of a war memorial." "The memorial will be rebuilt and the vandals will be caught and prosecuted in federal court, since the crime occurred on government property," he said. Sandoz said her husband plans to replace the cross, with the VFW's help, with an exact replica of the one he installed in 1996, when a previous version was vandalized. FAITH & REASON: Could a different 'memorial' replace Mojave cross? SUPREME COURT: Allow cross on public land in California TENSE ARGUMENTS: Justices divided over cross on park land The stolen cross was made of 4-inch steel pipe welded together into a 7-foot-tall cross and bolted into a rocky peak. The site is in California, about 200 miles northeast of Los Angeles. Linda Slater, spokeswoman for the National Park Service, said workers at the Mojave National Preserve saw the cross in place Sunday afternoon and discovered it missing Monday morning. Its location is near a trailhead and a paved road where there is frequent foot and vehicle traffic, she said. "I think everybody is shocked," Slater said. The cross has been the object of a lawsuit by plaintiffs who charged the religious symbol's placement on federal land violated the U.S. Constitution's separation of church and state. The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling last month, refused to order its removal and referred the case back to a lower court. Congress is also trying to resolve the issue by transferring the memorial's site into private hands. "This was a legal fight that a vandal just made personal to 50 million veterans … and their families," Tradewell said. It was not immediately clear whether a replacement cross will be permitted. "We're waiting for news from the Department of Justice as to what we should do. The case is still in litigation," Slater told the Associated Press. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more