Sgt. Patrick D. Stewart, 35, of Fernley, Nev.; assigned to the 113th Aviation Regiment, Nevada National Guard, Stead, Nev., killed Sept. 25 when his CH-47Chinook helicopter crashed southwest of Deh Chopan, Afghanistan. Sgt. Stewart attended Wooster High School and graduated from Washoe High. He was an 11-year veteran of the Army, Army Reserve and Guard, serving in Operation Desert Storm. After his death, controversy ensued when the Department of Veterans Affairs refused to imprint a Wiccan pentacle on his grave, to the dismay of his widow. 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 is not recognized for use in its cemeteries. John W. Whitehead, President of the Rutherford Institute wrote in an editorial on Christianity Today's website, "Although our country was founded on a Judeo-Christian 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." On Sept. 13, 2006, the Attorney General of the state of Nevada allowed the use of the pentacle on Sgt. Stewarts gravestone. Stewart was awarded the Air Medal, Bronze Star, and Purple Heart, posthumously. Sgt. Stewart died in combat in Afghanistan when his Chinook helicopter was shot down by a rocket propelled grenade. A memorial marker is also at Circle Sanctuary in Barneveld, Wisconsin. His ashes are scattered in the Virginia Highlands.
Sgt. Patrick D. Stewart, 35, of Fernley, Nev.; assigned to the 113th Aviation Regiment, Nevada National Guard, Stead, Nev., killed Sept. 25 when his CH-47Chinook helicopter crashed southwest of Deh Chopan, Afghanistan. Sgt. Stewart attended Wooster High School and graduated from Washoe High. He was an 11-year veteran of the Army, Army Reserve and Guard, serving in Operation Desert Storm. After his death, controversy ensued when the Department of Veterans Affairs refused to imprint a Wiccan pentacle on his grave, to the dismay of his widow. 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 is not recognized for use in its cemeteries. John W. Whitehead, President of the Rutherford Institute wrote in an editorial on Christianity Today's website, "Although our country was founded on a Judeo-Christian 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." On Sept. 13, 2006, the Attorney General of the state of Nevada allowed the use of the pentacle on Sgt. Stewarts gravestone. Stewart was awarded the Air Medal, Bronze Star, and Purple Heart, posthumously. Sgt. Stewart died in combat in Afghanistan when his Chinook helicopter was shot down by a rocket propelled grenade. A memorial marker is also at Circle Sanctuary in Barneveld, Wisconsin. His ashes are scattered in the Virginia Highlands.
