I write regarding the failure of the Dept. of Veterans Affairs to honor the religious choice of Sgt. Patrick Stewart of the Nevada National Guard who died in Aghanistan in September, 2005. The Dept. of Veterans Affairs has, thus far, failed to place the pentacle, a symbol of the Wiccan faith which was the faith of Sgt. Stewart, on this dead veteran's headstone. This discriminatory act directly contravenes the stated position of the Department of Defense as to accomodation of the religious beliefs of military personnel: "A basic principal of our nation is free exercise of religion. The Department of Defense places a high value on the rights of members of the Armed Forces to observe the tenets of their respective religions." DODD 1300.7, "Accommodation of Religious Practices within the Military Services," February 3, 1988 ASD (FM & P), through Ch. 1, October 17, 1988.
I would like to point out that Brigadier General Gaylord T. Gunhus, Chaplain, U.S. Army Deputy Chief of Chaplains worte in his June 2, 1999 letter to the Rev. Robert M. Overgaard, Sr., as follows: "The United States Army Chaplain Corps has been accommodating the diverse religious needs of military people for years. All faiths are seen as equal under the Constitution of the United Sates . . . The Army policy, consistent with the public law and Department of Defense policy, is to accommodate free exercise of religion for its members. This is a command responsibility and is executed by the Chaplain Corps."
Courts of Military Review have addressed Wicca favorably, finding it to be a socially recognized religion which is acknowledged as such by the Army. United States v. Phillips (42 M.J. 346, 349 [1995]). Major General Bill Denedinger stated on national television: "Federal courts and statutes decreed that they [Wiccans] are an organized religion and thus they fall under the protection of the Constitution."
For years, the U.S. Army Chaplains Handbook included a section on Wicca. See http://www.religioustolerance.org/wic_usbk.htm
In the wake of these facts, the failure to honor the religious choice of Sgt. Stewart is not only discriminatory, it is shameful. It says that his life is less than others given in military service. It says that although we ask our service men and women to surrender their lives so that others may have freedom of religion, we will deny it to them. The Wiccan pentacle must be placed among the recognized religious symbols for military headstones and markers, and it must be placed immediately upon the headstone of Sgt. Stewart.
Sincerely yours,
Dana D. Eilers, Attorney and Author
PAGANS AND THE LAW: UNDERSTAND YOUR RIGHTS