Pandora's Bazaar

Things are looking up for our Wiccan vets. Support appears to be growing for the pentacle to be approved and added to the list of emblems of belief that can be inscribed on headstones of deceased veterans.

A follow up article appeared in the Las Vegas Review Journal online.

Mar. 03, 2006
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Wiccan request gains support
Commander jopes VA allows symbol

By SEAN WHALEY
REVIEW-JOURNAL CAPITAL BUREAU

CARSON CITY -- The battalion commander in charge of the Nevada National Guard unit that lost Sgt. Patrick Stewart in Afghanistan in September said Thursday that he believes the Department of Veterans Affairs will act favorably on a request to allow a Wiccan religious symbol to be used for Stewart's memorial at the Fernley veterans cemetery.

Battalion commander Lt. Col. Robert Harington also said he supports the efforts of Roberta Stewart, the widow of Patrick Stewart, to win approval to use the Wiccan symbol of a pentacle on her husband's memorial plaque.

"The system reacts slowly to change," Harington said. "I think Roberta has the right attitude. They will take care of it. They just need to grind it through the system."

Harington said he does not object to the use of the symbol -- a five-pointed star with one point facing up enclosed in a circle -- in a veterans cemetery.

"I don't think any American soldier would object," he said. "We have a mixing ground of American society in the armed forces. We have soldiers from every walk of life and every faith. We are all accepted in our community."

Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., a veteran of Operation Desert Storm, said he would like to see the application acted on quickly.

"Obviously, it was disheartening to read about a brave soldier's widow unable to honor her husband at the memorial site in Fernley," Gibbons said in a statement. "It is my hope that the VA will act expeditiously to resolve this matter."

Roberta Stewart made her concerns known publicly because it had been five months since her husband died and the spot for his memorial plaque remained blank.

Stewart said Wednesday she wants the marker placed in the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery so the family can put her husband to rest and move on.

"The reaction has been pretty large and favorable, mostly from the military community," she said Thursday. "I'm just trying to keep a positive attitude and hope the government will see the error of this and push it through to make it a recognized emblem for all Wiccans and pagans."

Some Wiccans are private about their religion because of the concern their practices and beliefs might be misunderstood, she said. But Roberta Stewart said she and her husband let their beliefs be known in the community.

Wiccans, also known as neopagans, are a loosely confederated group of religious practitioners who are also referred to as nature religious practitioners. Their beliefs date back to before Christianity and focus on the natural world. Many of their observances fall around specific times of the year, such as the summer and winter solstice.

Wiccans may write rituals for themselves or their coven to recognize life passages, such as the onset of puberty, graduation or marriage.

Wiccans can refer to themselves as "white," or good, witches. But Stewart said the term is usually avoided in public because a primary tenet of the religion is "do no harm."

The Rev. Selene Fox, senior minister of a Wiccan group called Circle Sanctuary that filed an application for the use of the emblem in veterans cemeteries with the Veterans Administration in January, said Thursday it would be nice if the agency could act by the time Stewart's fellow National Guard members come home from Afghanistan later this month.

More than 30 emblems are allowed now, including the Christian cross and those for Buddhists and others.

"I think it would be a really good thing if they could make a decision before their return," she said.

VA spokeswoman Jo Schuda said the application is in progress but that there was nothing new to report.

Harington said the 98 members of Company D, 113th Aviation, are expected back in Nevada by March 15.

The Chinook helicopters used by the company are coming back with their crews aboard a C17 transport, which can hold only one of the aircraft, he said. The Guard members will first arrive in Fort Lewis, Wash., where they will put the partially disassembled helicopters back together, Harington said.

They will then fly by charter aircraft to Reno and have a coming home celebration at Stead, north of Reno, where the unit is located.

Harington said the return of the unit, which began its tour in Operation Enduring Freedom in January 2005, will be bittersweet.

Two members of the unit, Stewart and his friend Chief Warrant Officer John Flynn, of Sparks, died Sept. 25 along with two Guard members from Oregon and an Arizona soldier, when their Chinook helicopter was shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade while returning to base for refueling. They had just finished dropping off troops.

It's not too late to voice your opinions. See the links at then end of yesterday's entry.

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