It's Official- Wiccan War Hero Gets His Memorial
Thursday September 14, 2006
I was very pleased to hear that after waiting nearly a year for approval from the Department of Veterans Affairs' approval, Roberta Stewart has finally received permission to place a Wiccan symbol (pentacle) marker for her husband's memorial plaque. while the VA continues to stonewall on the issue, the State of Nevada has decided to go ahead and have the plaque created themselves.
Comments
That’s great, good for you. Your husbands sacrafice for our nation as a war hero should be cherished forever, reguardless of spirituality or religion. Put on the memorial what you feel is appropriate.
Not Jennifer’s husband, silly. Roberta Stewart’s husband is the one who died in Afghanistan and finally received the Pentacle on his memorial.
The approval for this plaque has been far too long in coming. Unfortunately, it was the State of Nevada that acted and not the VA, so a soldier from North Carolina will have to wonder if his widow will have to fight the same battle for his memorial.
This is a “Good news, but…” type of situation.
Sigh, I don’t see a really big reason to celebrate. The Veterans Administration still is not allowing Wicca to be a regcognized religion, these people just found a local loophole so the VA doesn’t get a say. So the next time a Wiccan gets killed, it will be the same old shit for them, especially if they don’t have the local support to get around it.
I’m glad for Roberta Stewart but this is not a real victory in my mind because nothing has officially changed.
I thnink it’s a positive step. It may not seem so now, but the state’s backing lends a lot of authority to the cause, and will put a LOT more pressure on the VA to act or explain themselves. It’s less easy to blow off the entire state of Nevada.
Every success — great or small — is still a step in the right direction. My heart goes out to Roberta Stewart in her time of loss and I applaud her courage for standing her ground for her husband’s memorial. She should be an inspiration to us all to stop hiding and to speak out for ourselves, especially we who are America’s Veterans. ~ Sharon Finnegan Terleski, HM2, USN, honorably discharged
The Veterans Administration still is not allowing Wicca to be a -recognized- religion…
Excuse me, but that is a clear violation of the 1st Ammendment! The VA is just asking to be sued… where’s the ACLU?