Reply #13: More recently: "Wiccan request gains support"

[Rose Siding]

CARSON CITY -- The battalion commander in charge of the Nevada National Guard unit that lost Sgt. Patrick Stewart in Afghanistan in September said Thursday that he believes the Department of Veterans Affairs will act favorably on a request to allow a Wiccan religious symbol to be used for Stewart's memorial at the Fernley veterans cemetery......

"I don't think any American soldier would object," he said. "We have a mixing ground of American society in the armed forces. We have soldiers from every walk of life and every faith. We are all accepted in our community."

Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., a veteran of Operation Desert Storm, said he would like to see the application acted on quickly.

"Obviously, it was disheartening to read about a brave soldier's widow unable to honor her husband at the memorial site in Fernley," Gibbons said in a statement. "It is my hope that the VA will act expeditiously to resolve this matter."

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Mar-03-Fri-2006/news/6174260.html