Coyote's Canyon Journal

"Now I see the secret of the making of the best persons. It is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth." -- Walt Whitman, Song of the Open Road

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Location: Canyon State of Mind, United States

I enjoy writing. I don't actually make a living with my English degree, so I keep a blog for fun. The blog is first draft, and as a former editor I apologize for any weird errors that may be present. I do not apologize for writing about things that matter to me. Thanks for reading.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Wicca not recognized by VA

Wiccan sign allowed on soldier's plaque

Excuse me.

I thought this was the land of the free. If this guy was a Wiccan, and his wife wants to place a pentagram on his headstone, and he DIED working for the USA, then by goddess it should be done. This is absolutely absurd:

Sgt. Patrick Stewart, 34, was killed in Afghanistan last September when a rocket-propelled grenade struck his helicopter. Four others also died. Stewart was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

He was a follower of the Wiccan religion, which the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs does not recognize and therefore prohibits on veterans' headstones in national cemeteries.


I am not Wiccan, but as a believer in freedom of religion, this family has every right, EVERY RIGHT, to be placing any darn thing they want on his headstone, and it looks like the state of Nevada agrees with me on that.

I would love to see an interview with some VA worm trying to explain why Wiccan symbolism isn't allowed. Now I wonder what else is or isn't acceptable as religious iconography on veterans' headstones.

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