It took too long, but one of our war dead has finally received the final recognition he's entitled to.
Details on the jump.
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A ways back, I diaried about this:
Wiccan War Widow Protests Husband's Plaque
FERNLEY, Nev. -- A war widow who failed to get a Wiccan religious symbol approved for her husband's memorial plaque has held an alternative memorial service in protest.
Federal officials denied Roberta Stewart's request to have the Wiccan pentacle placed above Sgt. Patrick Stewart's name on the government-issued plaque at the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery.
A space on the wall for his plaque remains blank.
The Wiccan belief is not among the 38, including atheism, that are recognized by the Veterans Affairs' National Cemetery Administration.
As an official ceremony honoring her husband was held at the cemetery, Roberta Stewart told Wiccans at an alternative ceremony, "This is discrimination against our religion."
Wiccans worship the Earth and believe they must give to the community.
Well, it shouldn't have taken as long as it did
but it finally happened.
RENO, Nev. - The widow of a soldier killed in
Afghanistan saw a Wiccan symbol placed on a memorial plaque for her husband Saturday, after fighting the federal 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 30 miles east of Reno.
They praised Gov. Kenny Guinn for his role in getting the Nevada Office of Veterans Services to issue the plaque in September. The agency cited its jurisdiction over maintenance of the state cemetery.
never thirst
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