Pentacle on military memorial stone
The re are 38 religious symbols approved for placement on government-issued grave markers and memorials for military veterans, but the pentacle isn't one of them. The five-pointed star within a circle that represents the Wiccan religion, a neo-pagan, earth-based belief system, is not on the list. As a result, the space reserved for Sgt. Patrick D. Stewart's memorial plaque at the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Fernley, Nev., remains empty. Stewart, 34, was killed in September 2005 when his Chinook helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan. He was a follower of the Wiccan tradition, and his wife is fighting to have the fact engraved in stone. "My husband's faith got him through the war in Desert Storm, through life's problems. It is our spirituality," Roberta Stewart, 36, said. "This is who we are as Americans." The effort to get the symbol of a tradition that for many conjures up thoughts of devil worship and steaming cauldrons has been