HISTORIC DEDICATION, SGT. STEWART’S PLAQUE
By Christopher Blackwell
It has never happened before: A Wiccan veteran having a government-provided memorial plaque mounted in a government-run cemetery. So Dec. 2, 2006 required special commemoration by those that hope that someday this will become standard for all of our deceased Wiccan and Pagan vets.
Final Preparations
At an early morning meeting at a local restaurant in Fernley, Rev. Selena Fox, Roberta Stewart, and Rev. Patrick McCullom met with others for breakfast. With most people wearing their pentacles, the Wiccans easily recognized each other and snapped pictures
After eating, the Lady Liberty League team who met for breakfast went to the cemetery and began preparations. Everyone took some time out to view the new plaque with Pentacle first hand. Many took photos, one did a marker rubbing of it. A triangular flag box was placed atop the Wall of Heroes. It contained an American flag that Sgt. Stewart flew during the time he was in Afghanistan. Several photos of Sgt. Stewart were set up at the base of the Wall of Heroes. a Pentacle wreath with red carnations and a white pentagram next to Sgt. Stewart's plaque.
Dedication Ceremony
It is a clear winter’s day, with a high of 49 degrees, when the rest of the crowd arrived in front of the Wall of Heroes and Stewart's plaque as a CD of the Sacred Cave Ritual played.
After the CD ended, WinterSky and Aryel Greencraft, high priestess and high priest of the Ancient Cauldron Coven of Sacramento, CA, begin drumming as the final guests were seated. Despite the chilly weather over 75 people attended.
Rev. Selena Fox, Senior Minister of Circle Sanctuary and Executive Director of the Lady Liberty League, started the ceremony with the ringing of the bell at 2:22 P.M. She spoke about her past visits to the then-empty spot on the wall of heroes and the difference it made to now have a proper memorial plaque to Sgt. Stewart for all to see. She then asked that all guests to get in tune with the divine of their own tradition.
Fox called all the Pagan veterans, along with former chaplain of Stewart’s Group, Rev. William Chrystal, who wore full military uniform. Facing the plaque, they formally saluted then the veterans returned to their seats.
Rev. Chrystal, now pastor of the First Congregational Church of Reno, spoke of meeting Sgt. Stewart when Stewart joined up with the Nevada National Guard after returning from active duty in Operation Desert Storm.
He said that he got to know Patrick as an extraordinary young man who had wonderful faith, and listed Wiccan on his dog tags as the Army allows, adding right to worship is not only a Constitutional right but a fundamental human right. After Stewart died in Afghanistan when a rocket-launched grenade brought down his helicopter in Sept. of 2005, Roberta turned to the chaplain in her grief. Rev. Chrystal has been an outspoken supporter ever since of the right for Pagan service people to obtain VA-supplied memorials bearing the pentacle.
Fox facilitated a call and response litany of thanksgiving that expressed gratitude for the plaque and the help of those who supported the quest. Stewart gave special thanks to U.S. Senator Senator Harry Reid (D, Nevada). The senator’s representative read the senator’s written statement for this occasion. She also thanked US Congressman and Governor Elect Jim Gibbons (R, Nevada) for his help. Gibbon’s representative expressed the Congressman’s support.
Others acknowledged included Nevada Governor Kenny
Guinn; the Attorney General George Chanos; Tim Tetz, Executive Director of the Nevada Veteran Services; and those responsible for ordering and overseeing the production and installation of the plaque.
Blessings
Fox began with a Wiccan blessing. She used the ritual tools from the Stewart household to bless the plaque, one for each of the five elements of the pentacle -- soil to represent Earth; incense and a feather to represent Air; a lit candle to represent Fire; a filled chalice for Water; and a crystal and copper spiral wand to represent Spirit
The reverend invited all Pagan elders to come and stand with her at the Wall of Heroes. Together they read the “Keepers of the Fire” as a special elemental blessing for Sgt. Stewart. More than a dozen joined in. Created by Tia Hu of the Sacred Well Congregation and is printed in full below.
(Tia Hu is a mentor and the webmistress for Victory Base Open Circle, Baghdad, Iraq, affiliated with the Sacred Well Congregation, and the creator of the Stars of Freedom Memorial for Our Fallen Pagan Heroes Who Served in the U.S. Military):
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Keepers of the Fire
In dawn of each new day, we will turn to the East,
and see your shining face, Sgt. Patrick Dana Stewart,
in the radiant light of the rising Sun.
And we shall know that you have joined as One,
with the Creative Power of the Universe.
In the bright day of noon, we will turn to the South,
and feel the warmth of your courageous, honorable spirit in our hearts.
And we shall know the full living expression,
of your soul on Earth and your spirit hereafter.
In the glorious canvas of Sunset, we will turn to the West,
and witness your signature on the day as you walk with honored ancestors.
And we shall know both the wisdom of your life,
and the admonishment of your death - to create a world of peace.
In the deep of the night, we will turn to the North,
and witness in the stars that you are given a place of remembrance.
And we shall ever know you in our dreams,
as alive and fulfilling your own dreams beyond your allotted years.
In the deepest center of our souls, we will feel your constant presence,
and find ourselves humbled by the true essence of your spirit.
And we shall pray that like you, we will be 'Keepers of the Fire,'
Each in our own way, will live and love with honor and with courage.
And as the family anchors of this earthly home front,
We know there isn't any distance between loving hearts.
And we make this solemn promise in the memory of your lives,
To keep the hearthfires burning for our troops still serving,
Until they all come home!
With Love, Gratitude, and Respect for Our Fallen Hero,
Sgt. Patrick Dana Stewart,
And Your Loved Ones,
Rev. Kay J. Ahl
(AKA: Tia Hu)
© 2005, Rev. Kay J. Ahl
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Following the reading, Mato Witko, Comanche-Irish, Pipecarrier, Sundancer, and Intertribal Sweatlodge Leader, performed a Native American blessing. He called Roberta Stewart to come forward to hold the sacred pipe in pipe bag and blessed the four directions using a winged feather fan and burning sage.
Paula Johnson, a Wiccan with Jewish heritage, read a traditional Jewish prayer for the dead that has been traditionally used in the unveiling of a gravestone. Next, Rev. Chrystal, pastor of the First Congregational Church of Reno, gave a Christian prayer.
Fox invited the audience to touch the plaque and each do their own personal blessing as new recording of “Symbol” is played in the back ground. Roberta and her daughter led the way. The local sheriff and his deputy added theirs at the end.
Freedom Calls
The final part of the the service began with Rev. Fox introducing a series of speakers. She spoke of Sgt. Stewart's love of freedom, then turned asked Wolf, a Pagan veteran and Reno Pagan Community elder, to come forth. He spoke first hand about the need for the US Department of Veterans Affairs to properly honor deceased Pagan veterans.
Then Paula Johnson spoke. A Wiccan priestess from Florida, she has been serving as Lady Liberty League's media relations liaison and also is a national interfaith representative for Covenant of the Goddess.
Next to speak was Rev. Patrick McCollum, the Lady Liberty League Chaplaincy Relations Coordinator, American Academy of Religion Chaplaincy Liaison and High Priest of Our Lady of the Wells Church.
McCollum said he was honored to be here for the occasion of the dedication. “As I stand here looking at the plaque marking the final resting place of one of our nation's heroes, I can feel tears welling inside me as I see for the first time, MY SYMBOL OF FAITH included in such a place of honor on the wall of heroes, for it has been a long and difficult battle, and there has been much suffering and humiliation for many of us who've fought for this cause.”
“But I also have other conflicting feelings bubbling up inside. While I am pleased to see that we've made progress in this pursuit, I also feel anger and frustration at the bureaucracy in Washington, who still deny Sgt. Stewart and all the rest our Pagan veterans their symbol
nationally.”
He said at a time when Sgt. Stewart gave his life to protect ideals like liberty, justice, and equality for all, agencies of our government have forsaken them.
McCollum continued “But the Pagans who defend our country, those who give their lives in service freely to defend our highest ideals, are denied the most fundamental rights guaranteed to all Americans by our Constitution in the Fourteenth Amendment. And what rights are those? They are the rights to be treated with equality and equal dignity under the law.”
He said he felt it was more than just government bungling, more due to the religious bias of those in the bureaucracy
and included a quote from Jefferson in 1776:
“Neither Pagan nor Mohomitan (Muslim) nor Jew ought to be excluded from the rights of the commonwealth because of his religion. Shall we suffer a Pagan to deal with us and not suffer him to pray to his god?? It is the very refusing of toleration to those of different opinion which has produced all the bustles and wars on account of religion.”
McCollum said he had no trouble understanding Jefferson’s meaning but some of our politicians in the Veterans Administration seem to have forgotten those words, and finished with, “For there is far more at stake here than just a veteran's plaque or a principle. What's at stake here today is the very principle that underlies the core foundation of our democracy and freedom. And that my friends is what Sergeant Patrick Stewart, a Pagan veteran, sacrificed his life for! “
The next speaker, Jill Medicine Heart Combs, Lady Liberty League Networker and member of the National Board of CUUPS (Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans) and National Board of Pagan Pride Project International spoke of her Wiccan husband, Gary Combs (Bear), lying in a coma in a VA hospital for two years.
Combs said, “I am here to speak for those who can't. My husband is a Wiccan veteran. His name is Gerwin Dee Combs. Gerwin served in the United States Army from 1979 to 1986. For the last two years he has been in a VA hospital. He’s in a coma and his medical records reflect a persistent vegetative state. I know at any point my husband could die. I know he would want a pentacle on his headstone and as of now he could not have one.”
She said in a letter that the her senator reported that the VA was concerned over the legal and moral issues surrounding the approval of the pentacle. Combs said, “It is immoral for the VA to deny religious freedom to veterans who have served their country to fight for that freedom.” She added it was her husband’s Constitutional right and vowed to make certain his rights were upheld.
Rev. Fox asked that at this commemoration of Sgt. Stewart's life, service, and sacrifice that we continue the veteran pentacle quest as other grieving Wiccan families still wait.
She noted a quote on the side of the VA building from Abraham Lincoln summarizing the prime directive of the VA: " To him who has born the battle, to care for his widow and orphans."
Fox asked, “Where is the VA's care for the widows, children, mothers, fathers, and other family members of deceased Wiccan veterans? Why does the VA not give equal treatment and respect to Wiccan veterans?”
She mentioned talking with the mother of PFC. Stephen P. Snowberger III who was killed May 11, 2006. His mother grieved not only the loss of her 18-year-old son, but was angered over the VA not respecting his religion. Fox read the mother’s remarks.
"I refuse to put one of the 38 emblems on the list on a VA marker for my son -- they do not represent his religion! And I refuse to omit an emblem of belief. Until the VA approves the addition of the pentacle to its list, I have no other choice than to let my son's life, service, and sacrifice go unmarked by a VA memorial plaque.
My son believed in freedom. He fought for freedom. He died for freedom in the war known as Operation Iraqi Freedom. But where is freedom for him? Why is the VA refusing to uphold the Constitution? How much longer will the VA deny American freedoms for my son and other Wiccan veterans?"
Fox then read the remarks of Karen DePolito, the widow of Jerome Birnbaum, Korean War veteran who died November 17, 2005. This is the other widow in the AU suit against the VA over its delay in accepting the pentacle as an emblem of belief.
Karen DePolito said she was Wiccan priestess for more than twenty years and most of that time married to her high priest and magical partner Jerome Birnbaum, a U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War.
After his death Fox helped her apply for a VA marker. “That was in January of this year. It is now December. For whatever reasons, the VA continues to delay on the requests of myself, Roberta Stewart and others,” DePolito said, “Meanwhile, other, perhaps more obscure, religious groups have had their own symbols approved with no trouble.”
She was happy for Roberta Stewart’s sake, DePolito acknowledged, “But you must excuse me if my own joy today is somewhat muted. For my husband's remains are long in the ground, without the VA-sanctioned marker he is entitled to.” She declined to speculate when the VA would grant it.
Rev. Barry Lynn, Executive Director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State wrote the next statement that Fox read. He said he sent these remarks with mixed emotions, pleased by the dedication of Sgt. Stewart's memorial plaque and Roberta’s tenacity.
Yet he regretted that her stand was necessary and that the plaque only came by way of the state officials of Nevada. He said it was not over yet the Americans United having filed litigation because other fallen Wiccan veterans are not fortunate enough to live in Nevada. The VA and the government have a duty to recognize the wide diversity of religion in America. “The VA must do this not merely because it is constitutionally compelled to do so -- they must do it because it is the right and moral thing to do.”
He ended with,“Today we take some time to remember Sgt. Stewart, a fallen American hero. The recognition he receives today is long overdue. I offer my condolences to his entire family. We pause today to remember him, and we make this vow: in his memory and in the memory of those who believed as he did, we will continue to press forward until we have achieved victory. Sgt. Stewart never gave up, and neither will we. His memory demands nothing less.”
The ceremony ended with everyone forming a circle around the wall of Heroes and chanting, "Liberty and
Justice for All!!!” Afterwards there is some media interviews and then everyone went to a reception in the nearby Silverado lounge where they watched Channel 2 CBS play coverage of the dedication ceremony as top story on the six o’clock news and also eleven o’clock news. The crowd cheered.
Editor’s note: All quotes come directly from copies of the speeches provided by Rev. Selena Fox, chief minister of Circle Sanctuary and Executive Director of Lady Liberty League. She also provided the photos and general outline of the services and most of the information. She spent a great deal of time e-mailing me over several days and gave me complete access to her.
Other information came from Tia Hu and WinterSky who exchanged emails with me as needed.
More information about the dedication visit : http://www.circlesanctuary.org/liberty/veteranpentacle