Wiccan pentacle will finally mark fallen soldiers' graves
Pastor Dale Morgan
Wiccan pentacle will finally mark fallen soldiers' graves*
POSTED: 2015 GMT (0415 HKT), May 27, 2007
Story Highlights
• The Wiccan pentacle is now recognized by the VA as a religious symbol
• On Memorial Day, Wiccan headstones will be set for a number of soldiers
• Wiccans sued the government last year
• Wicca is based on respect for the earth and the seasons
MADISON, Wisconsin (AP) -- Since Korean War veteran Jerome Birnbaum died
in 2005, his grave in a pagan cemetery had been marked with only a pile
of stones and U.S. flags.
On Memorial Day, Birnbaum's grave and those of other military veterans
will be dedicated with government-issued markers etched with a symbol of
their religion -- the Wiccan pentacle.
Wiccans sued the government last year, arguing that it was unduly
stalling a decision on whether to add the pentacle to the list of
acceptable symbols for veterans' graves.
A settlement between the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Wiccans
added the five-pointed star to the list of "emblems of belief."
"I like to see our success literally etched in stone, because it will
be," said Birnbaum's wife, Karen DePolito. She said winning the fight is
vindication for all Wiccans.
Half of her husband's ashes were scattered outside their house in Utah,
while the rest were interred in a cemetery at Circle Sanctuary, one of
the nation's largest Wiccan churches.
Circle Sanctuary, located in Barneveld, Wisconsin, about 25 miles west
of Madison, will be home to three grave markers -- more than any other
place in the country, high priestess Selena Fox said.
Arlington National Cemetery will have two markers. A World War II
veteran's marker was dedicated Wednesday, and a ceremony for another
Wiccan veteran was planned for July 4, Fox said.
The VA said five pentacle markers have been delivered since the April 23
settlement with one more request pending. Fox said she knows of 12
requests that are going to be made to the VA.
The VA now permits nearly 40 symbols, ranging from the pentacle to
commonly recognized symbols for Christianity and Islam.
Wicca is a nature-based religion based on respect for the earth, nature
and the cycle of the seasons. Variations of the pentacle not accepted by
Wiccans have been used in horror movies as a sign of the devil.
Among those attending the dedications will be Roberta Stewart of
Fernley, Nevada, whose husband, Sgt. Patrick Stewart, was killed in
Afghanistan in 2005 when the Nevada Army National Guard helicopter he
was in was shot down. Stewart's ashes were mostly scattered, but some
are at the Wiccan cemetery.
"To me it shows that our Veterans Administration is hopefully going to
think twice before they discriminate the next time," she said of the
settlement. "They don't get to pick and choose our soldiers' faith."
The widow of a third veteran receiving a marker, A. Douglas Wilkey, also
planned to be at Monday's ceremony. Wilkey, who died in 2003, served in
Korea and Vietnam.
Ceremony attendees will gather at the church -- a former dairy barn --
and then proceed to the cemetery at the top of a hill overlooking the
Wisconsin wilderness. At the grave sites, Fox said she will perform a
Wiccan blessing on the new markers.
At the end, a large circle will be formed to honor deceased veterans,
Fox said.