[Vision2020] Wiccan Plaque Installed for Fallen Soldier

[Paul Rumelhart]

I'm glad to see this happen.  I came close to stepping foot upon that 
path myself years ago, and while I felt it wasn't the path for me I am 
glad that Wicca is finally getting some of the respect that I think it 
deserves.

Sgt. Stewart fought and died for his country - the least we can do in 
return is respect his beliefs.

Paul

Tom Hansen wrote:

>>From today's Roundup edition of the Army Times -
>
>---------------------------------------------------------
>
>Wiccan plaque installed for fallen soldier
>
>FERNLEY, Nev. - The space on a memorial wall in Fernley for a fallen Nevada
>soldier is empty no longer.
>
>A plaque with the Wiccan religious symbol was installed Monday on the
>Veterans' Memorial Wall at the Northern Nevada Veterans Cemetery for Sgt.
>Patrick Stewart.
>
>The Nevada Army National Guardsman and four other soldiers died Sept. 25,
>2005, when their Chinook helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan.
>
>Since then, Stewart's widow, Roberta, has been fighting to have the
>Department of Veterans Affairs recognize the Wiccan pentacle - a
>five-pointed star enclosed in a circle - for plaques and headstones at
>veterans' cemeteries.
>
>The Veterans Affairs' National Cemetery Administration allows only approved
>emblems of religious beliefs on government headstones. Over the years, it
>has approved 38, including symbols for the Tenrikyo Church, United Moravian
>Church and Sikhs. There is also an emblem for atheists.
>
>But leaders of the Wiccan faith say they've been trying for nine years to
>have their symbol recognized by the federal government.
>
>This fall, the Nevada Office of Veterans Services decided it had the
>authority to put the Wiccan emblem on a plaque for Stewart because the
>Fernley memorial is at a state veterans' cemetery.
>
>Roberta Stewart said she was pleased with the plaque but would continue her
>struggle with the federal government.
>
>Earlier this month, she and others filed a federal lawsuit, claiming the
>VA's failure to approve the Wiccan symbol amounts to constitutional
>violations of free speech, freedom of religion and due process.
>
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>
>Seeya round town, Moscow.
>
>t hansen-moore
>Moscow, Idaho
>
>"Patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion but the tranquil
>and steady dedication of a lifetime." 
>
>--Adlai E. Stevenson, Jr.
>
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