When even the staunchly Republican editorial page of the Robert McCormick's Chicago Tribune calls out for allowing Wiccan symbols on a decorated veterans grave, you'd think the VA would be sympathetic. Apparently not.
Respecting a soldier's faith
Patrick Stewart was an adherent of Wicca--a religion based on worship of nature, whose members call themselves witches or pagans. It didn't get in the way of him serving his country with distinction in the Nevada National Guard. Sgt. Stewart was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star after being killed in Afghanistan when the helicopter carrying him was shot down.But now that he's deceased, his Wiccan faith presents a problem. His widow, Roberta Stewart, asked the Department of Veterans Affairs to memorialize him at a Nevada veterans cemetery with a marker including his name and the Wiccan symbol--a five-pointed star in a circle. But the VA balked, on the grounds that Wiccan emblems have not been approved. All it was willing to do was install a plaque with his name.
Why the VA has resisted Mrs. Stewart's request is hard to understand. It allows 38 other religious symbols--not just for Christianity and Judaism, but Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Bahai, humanism and even atheism.
I wonder what the accepted grave mark for atheism was? Have there been any Pastafarians?
Jokes aside, I see no reason why Patrick Stewart cannot be honored in accommodation with his and his wife's wishes.
