Patrick Stewart (soldier)
Encyclopedia
- For the British actor, see Patrick StewartPatrick StewartSir Patrick Hewes Stewart, OBE is an English film, television and stage actor, who has had a distinguished career in theatre and television for around half a century...
Sgt. Patrick D. Stewart (Reno, Nevada
Reno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
October 21, 1970 – September 25, 2005) was a soldier in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
. He died in combat in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
when his Chinook helicopter
CH-47 Chinook
The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is an American twin-engine, tandem rotor heavy-lift helicopter. Its top speed of 170 knots is faster than contemporary utility and attack helicopters of the 1960s...
was shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade
Rocket propelled grenade
A rocket-propelled grenade is a shoulder-fired, anti-tank weapon system which fires rockets equipped with an explosive warhead. These warheads are affixed to a rocket motor and stabilized in flight with fins. Some types of RPG are reloadable while others are single-use. RPGs, with the exception of...
while returning to base. Patrick Stewart was a resident of Fernley
Fernley, Nevada
Fernley is a city in Lyon County, Nevada, United States, within Reno-Sparks-Lake Tahoe metropolitan. The city incorporated in 2001, including land in Washoe County; prior to that it was a census-designated place . The population of the CDP was 8,543 at the 2000 census; the city itself had an...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, USA and a practicing Wicca
Wicca
Wicca , is a modern Pagan religious movement. Developing in England in the first half of the 20th century, Wicca was popularised in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica."...
n.
Burial controversy
After his death, controversy ensued when the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)United States Department of Veterans Affairs
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs is a government-run military veteran benefit system with Cabinet-level status. It is the United States government’s second largest department, after the United States Department of Defense...
initially refused to imprint a Wicca
Wicca
Wicca , is a modern Pagan religious movement. Developing in England in the first half of the 20th century, Wicca was popularised in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica."...
n pentacle
Pentacle
A pentacle is an amulet used in magical evocation, generally made of parchment, paper or metal , on which the symbol of a spirit or energy being evoked is drawn. It is often worn around the neck, or placed within the triangle of evocation...
on his grave, to the dismay of his widow, Roberta Stewart. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and its National Cemetery Administration prohibit graphics on government-furnished headstones or markers other than those they have approved as "emblems of belief", and Wicca was not then recognized for use in its cemeteries.
Roberta Stewart commented "...remember that all freedoms are worth fighting for". At an alternative memorial service, assisted by Selena Fox, of the Circle Sanctuary
Circle Sanctuary
Circle Sanctuary is a non-profit organization and legally recognized Wiccan Church based in southwestern Wisconsin, USA. Circle is the publisher of Circle Magazine, which has approximately 15,000 subscribers...
, a Wiccan congregation, members of Patrick Stewart's Nevada Army National Guard unit and the Rev. Bill Chrystal, retired chaplain from Stewart's unit (Roberta was not allowed to speak at the regular Memorial Day Service at the Veterans Cemetery two miles away, prompting the alternative service), Sergeant Stewart's life was celebrated. Afterward, at the Northern Nevada Veterans Cemetery, Mrs. Stewart placed a blue wreath with a white pentacle in the center alongside the blank spot where Patrick's memorial marker would be attached when the pentacle symbol was approved.
On May 27, 2006, the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
reported, "Over the years, families have used religious symbols such as the Jewish Star of David
Star of David
The Star of David, known in Hebrew as the Shield of David or Magen David is a generally recognized symbol of Jewish identity and Judaism.Its shape is that of a hexagram, the compound of two equilateral triangles...
, the Christian cross
Christian cross
The Christian cross, seen as a representation of the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, is the best-known religious symbol of Christianity...
and the Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic crescent and star to honor their loved ones on headstones and markers. For Sgt. Patrick Stewart's family, the symbol of choice was also from his religion: the Wiccan pentacle. But of all the symbols and faiths recognized by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Wicca and its emblem, a circle around a five-pointed star, are not among them." According to federal guidelines, only approved religious symbols
USVA emblems for headstones and markers
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs maintains many cemeteries specifically devoted to veterans. Most have various rules regarding what must take place in order to be interred there....
— of which there were 38 —can be placed on government headstones or memorial plaques.
The Rev. Selena Fox
Selena Fox
Selena Fox is a Wiccan priestess and activist, psychotherapist, self-published author and lecturer in the fields of Neopaganism, Wicca, New Age and comparative religion.- Circle :Rev...
, senior minister of the Wiccan Circle Sanctuary in Barneveld, Wisconsin
Barneveld, Wisconsin
Barneveld is a village in Iowa County, Wisconsin, United States. It is the fourth most populous community in Iowa County, while the second largest village, and largest village located fully within the county. The population was 1,088 at the 2000 census...
, is among those who pushed the federal government to adopt the emblem. Fox said "Veterans Affairs has been considering such requests for nearly nine years with no decision. While this stonewalling continues, families of soldiers who gave the ultimate sacrifice are still waiting for equal rights."
John W. Whitehead, President of the Rutherford Institute
Rutherford Institute
The Rutherford Institute is a non-profit group based in Charlottesville, Virginia dedicated to the defense of civil liberties, human rights, and religious liberty. It was founded in 1982 by John W. Whitehead...
, wrote in his June 5, 2006, editorial on Christianity Today
Christianity Today
Christianity Today is an Evangelical Christian periodical based in Carol Stream, Illinois. It is the flagship publication of its parent company Christianity Today International, claiming circulation figures of 140,000 and readership of 290,000...
's website, "Although our country was founded on a Judeo-Christian
Judeo-Christian
Judeo-Christian is a term used in the United States since the 1940s to refer to standards of ethics said to be held in common by Judaism and Christianity, for example the Ten Commandments...
base, the Framers of the Constitution understood that religious freedom was for everyone, not just Christians. In other words, the only way that freedom can prevail for Christians is for Christians to stand up and fight for the minority beliefs and religions of others."
Outcome
On September 13, 2006, the Attorney General of the state of Nevada opined that the state government had jurisdiction over state veterans' cemeteries, including the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery where Stewart was buried. State officials, led by Nevada Governor Kenny GuinnKenny Guinn
Kenneth Carroll "Kenny" Guinn was an American businessman, educator and politician. He was the 27th Governor of Nevada from 1999 to 2007. He was a member of the Republican Party and a former member of the Democratic Party....
, said they would authorize the use of the plaque with the Wiccan symbol. It was installed over the weekend of November 18–19, 2006.
In the meantime, Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed litigation on Roberta Stewart's behalf in federal court. The lawsuit was filed on Nov. 13, 2006, and in the legal action, Americans United argued that the federal government was showing favoritism toward certain religions by maintaining a list of 38 religious symbols that could be used on headstones and memorial markers.
Attorneys with the VA approached Americans United and expressed an interest in settling the case. On April 23, 2007, Americans United held a press conference to announce that the case had been settled. As part of the settlement, the VA added the pentacle to the list of emblems allowed in national cemeteries and on VA-issued headstones, markers, and plaques.