'Fallen Soldier Gets a Bronze Star but No Pagan Star'
By Alan Cooperman,Washington Post Staff Writer,Tuesday, July 4, 2006

'At the Veterans Memorial Cemetery in ..Fernley, Nev., there is a wall of brass plaques for local heroes. But one space is blank. There is no memorial for Sgt. Patrick D. Stewart.

'That's because Stewart was a Wiccan, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has refused to allow a symbol of the Wicca religion ..

'The department has approved the symbols of 38 other faiths; about half of are versions of the Christian cross. It also allows the Jewish Star of David, the Muslim crescent, the Buddhist wheel, the Mormon angel, the nine-pointed star of Bahai and something that looks like an atomic symbol for atheists.'

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/03/AR2006070300968.html

'Wiccan soldier's widow fights for symbol'
By Jennifer Garza, Bee Staff Writer, July 8, 2006

'Sgt. Patrick Stewart openly discussed his Wiccan faith, and his beliefs were inscribed on his dog tags.

'Now his religion is at the center of a controversy that has pitted his widow against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

'Stewart, 34, was killed with four other men in September when the Chinook helicopter in which they were riding was shot down in Afghanistan. ..

The Department of Veterans Affairs does not permit the Wiccan symbol -- a five-pointed star known as a pentacle -- to be inscribed on U.S. military memorials.'

http://www.meta-religion.com/Spiritualism/Wicca/wicca_soldier.htm

'Slain Nevada Soldier at Last Gets Wiccan Plaque'
Associated Press, December 4, 2006

'RENO, Nev. -- The widow of a soldier killed in Afghanistan saw a Wiccan symbol placed on a memorial plaque for her husband Saturday, after fighting the federal government for more than a year over the emblem ..'

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/03/AR2006120301126.html

Associated Press, April 23, 2007

'MADISON, Wis. - The Wiccan pentacle has been added to the list of emblems allowed in national cemeteries and on government-issued headstones of fallen soldiers, according to a settlement announced Monday.'

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18274639/

Wiccans believe in reincarnation and honor the Earth, says Stewart. She says her beliefs are a combination of Native American spirituality and Celtic faiths. Wiccan rituals celebrate the cycle of seasons.

The Wiccan pentacle is an encircled five-pointed star. The star represents balance and the circle surrounding it represents unity and eternity, says Fox.