CARSON CITY -- A memorial plaque with a Wiccan religious symbol on it was installed over the weekend at the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Fernley for Sgt. Patrick Stewart, who died in Afghanistan more than a year ago.
Roberta Stewart, his widow, said she was notified Monday that the plaque had been installed.
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"I heard the news about 10:30 a.m. and went right out there," Stewart said.
The plaque was installed without fanfare, just as they are for all Nevada military burials, she said.
"They honored Patrick the way they honor all other soldiers," Stewart said. "Pat is honored today the way he should have been over a year ago."
Stewart said the plaque was installed just days before what would have been the couple's third anniversary.
"The Stewart family thanks the entire community, the political leaders and people of all faiths," she said. "But the fight continues."
Stewart has been fighting since her husband's death to get a plaque with the Wiccan symbol, a five-pointed star with one point straight up called a pentacle, approved for her husband.
William Tuerk, under secretary for memorial affairs within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, met with Stewart earlier this summer in Washington, D.C., but she was told no action on approving the Wiccan pentacle for use in veterans cemeteries would be taken anytime soon.
The agency has recognized other emblems over the years, including one for atheists, Buddhists and those for many different Christian denominations.
In September, Nevada state officials said they would authorize a memorial plaque with the Wiccan symbol on it for Stewart for use at the Fernley cemetery.
The decision to install the plaque was reached after receiving legal advice from the Nevada Attorney General's office that the Nevada Office of Veterans Services and the state had sole discretion over state veterans cemeteries.
But the fight to get the federal agency to approve the pentacle as an "emblem of belief" for use in veterans cemeteries nationwide continues.
A lawsuit was filed Nov. 13 by Americans United for Separation of Church and State against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs over its refusal to include the Wiccan symbol of faith on its official list of emblems for government headstones and markers.
The group is representing Stewart, as well as Karen DePolito, whose husband, Jerome Birnbaum, is a veteran of the Korean War who died last year; Circle Sanctuary, a prominent Wiccan church; and the Isis Invicta Military Mission, a Wiccan and Pagan congregation serving military personnel.
The Army allows Wiccan soldiers to list their faith on dog tags, Wiccan organizations are allowed to hold services on military installations and the Army Chaplains Handbook includes an explanation of the religion, attorneys said.
Wiccans worship the Earth and believe they must give to the community. Some consider themselves "white" or good witches, pagans or neo-pagans. Approximately 1,800 active-duty service members identify themselves as Wiccans, according to 2005 Defense Department statistics.
Stewart, who was serving with the Nevada Army National Guard, died Sept. 25 when his Chinook helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan. Four others also died.
