Afghan war widow dedicates plaque with Wiccan symbol in Nevada cemetery

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This article was published 03/12/2006 (7116 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

RENO, Nev. (AP) – The widow of a soldier killed in Afghanistan saw a Wiccan symbol placed on a memorial plaque in Nevada for her husband Saturday, after fighting the U.S. government for more than a year over the emblem.

Roberta Stewart, widow of Sgt. Patrick Stewart, and Wiccan leaders said it was the first government-issued memorial plaque with a Wiccan pentacle – a five-pointed star enclosed in a circle. More than 50 friends and family dedicated the plaque at Northern Nevada Veterans Cemetery, about 50 kilometres east of Reno.

They praised Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn for his role in persuading the state Office of Veterans Services to issue the plaque in September. The agency cited its jurisdiction over maintenance of the state cemetery.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs recognizes more than 30 symbols, including more than a dozen variations of the Christian cross and the atomic whirl used by atheists but not the pentacle.

VA officials have said they are rewriting rules for approving emblems but the process requires a public comment period.

Last month, Americans United for Separation of Church and State sued the VA on behalf of Stewart and others for its refusal to include the Wiccan emblem.

“Our people are on the front line in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it’s not right they’re not getting equal treatment,” said Rev. Selena Fox, one of the Wiccan organizers of the event.

About 1,800 active-duty service members identify themselves as Wiccans, 2005 Defence Department statistics show. Wiccans worship the Earth and believe they must give to the community. Some consider themselves “white” or good witches, pagans or neo-pagans.

Stewart and four other soldiers died Sept. 25, 2005, when their Chinook helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan.