State approves plaque honoring Wiccan soldier

RENO- The widow of a Nevada soldier killed in Afghanistan a year ago won state approval Wednesday to place a Wiccan religious symbol on his memorial plaque, something the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has refused to do.

"I'm just in shock," Roberta Stewart said from her home in Fernley, about 30 miles east of Reno.

"I'm honored and ecstatic. I've been waiting a year for this," she told The Associated Press.

Sgt. Patrick Stewart, 34, was killed in Afghanistan last Sept. 25 when the Nevada Army National Guard helicopter he was in was shot down. 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.

The new development came Wednesday when state veterans officials said they had received a legal opinion from the Nevada Attorney General's Office that concluded federal officials have no authority over state veterans' cemeteries.

As a result, they intend to have a contractor construct a plaque with the Wiccan pentacle - a circle around a five-pointed star - to be added to the Veterans' Memorial Wall in Fernley.

"The VA still has not determined yet if a Wiccan symbol can go on the headstone," said Tim Tetz, executive director of the Nevada Office of Veterans Services.

"But we have determined we control the state cemetery and that we therefore have the ability to recognize him for his service to his country," he told AP.

Wiccans worship the Earth and believe they must give to the community. Some consider themselves witches, pagans or neo-pagans.

The Veterans Affairs' National Cemetery Administration allows only approved emblems of religious beliefs on government headstones. Over the years, it has approved more than 30, including symbols for the Tenrikyo Church, United Moravian Church and Sikhs. There's also an emblem for atheists - but none for Wiccans.

Gov. Kenny Guinn, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., were among those who had pleaded Stewart's case to the VA with no success.

Mrs. Stewart said she's hopeful the plaque will be in place by the anniversary of her husband's death.

"I'm proud that my state of Nevada is overriding the national VA to do this," Mrs. Stewart said Wednesday.

"It gives me great peace to know my husband did not die in vain. But the quest will continue. There are still other Wiccans who may not receive a pentacle because they do not live in Nevada," she said.

"My hope is the national Veterans Administration will follow so that all soldiers of all faiths can be honored equally," she said.

Stewart, who graduated from Reno's Wooster High School in 1989, posthumously was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

Tetz said the plaque will be placed beside one honoring Stewart's former crewmate, Chief Warrant Officer John Flynn.

"I promised his widow and many others that we would diligently pursue every option to make certain Sgt. Stewart received recognition for his contributions as an Army soldier, a Nevadan and an American hero," Tetz said in a statement Wednesday.

The attorney general's opinion cited part of a federal regulation related to national cemeteries that reads:

"Neither the Secretary nor any employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs shall exercise any supervision or control over the administration, personnel, maintenance, or operation of any State veterans cemetery."

Brig. Gen. Cindy Kirkland, the adjutant general of Nevada's National Guard, welcomed the news.

"We are proud of the combat service of every Nevada National Guardsman and I am pleased we are able to recognize Sgt. Stewart's sacrifice and the ideals for which he stood," she said.

Stewart enlisted in the Army in 1989 and served in Desert Storm and in Korea. After completing his active duty, he enlisted in the Nevada Army National Guard in 2005 and went to Afghanistan with Task Force Storm.