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Victory!!!! V.A. Concedes, pays legal fees and costs!

Raven's View        Welcome our new columnist for Military and Veterans' Affairs,
                                          Duane "Raven Spirit" Marshall USAR

          
 

Current Veterans' Headstone Campaign Stories
 (most recent stories presented first)

Introducing Our New Military/Veterans Affairs columnist

I, Too, Have a Dream
by Duane RavenSpirit Marshall, USAR

I am a USAR Vet from Desert Storm and the right to one day have a pentagram on my headstone is very near and dear to me. Here's my dream of Liberty.

"I have a dream .." This is maybe one of the most famous statements in American history.

I, too, have a dream. It is the same dream as many in this great Nation we call The United States.

I have a dream that our elected officials will live out the vision of our Founding Fathers when they penned the words:

They listed some very special qualities they wanted in a Nation. They also listed responsibilities of the Government, including promoting general welfare, providing for the common defense, and securing Liberty.

Securing Liberty is the very thing I am speaking out about today.

Imagine, if you will, a young man or woman kneels before an altar and pledges their life in service to their country to defend the very freedoms that their ancestors provided. This person is called by their country, sent to a far away land and dies in service to that call.

Those that die, die for something they believe in - US. When I say they died for US. I am not just saying U.S. as the United States -- rather that they served in our stead. In other words, they served so we did not  have to. For that we owe them a debt -- one that can be paid quite simply.

But what is the price of human life? I write to you today and tell you the value of one life -- one human soul is without measure.

I drive down the highway and see flowers, markers and signs for the dead.

Those dead have died in many different ways. We have memorials for those who lost their lives in schools, in bombings, and other incidents.

Yet in all of the hurt and torment, we still fail to hear the cries of families of some fallen heroes. In particular, I am referring to fallen heroes who were Pagan Soldiers.

These men and women fight with honor, and go bravely in to battle when called. They receive notice their country needs them, yet when simply asked to be laid to rest under a star - their star, their emblem of belief, the Pentacle -- they receive their country's back.

I have a dream.

I have a dream that one day our Government will understand that the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s is not just about race, but about equality on ALL levels - including religious freedom.

In the words of our Constitution:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

I have a dream that as I look out across the fields of the honored dead and shed a tear, I can look upon the tombstones of Muslims and ask Allah to bless them. I can look upon a tombstones of Christians and thank their God in Heaven for their gift. I can look up on the marker of a Pagan and thank the Lord and Lady they were there.

Yes, I have a dream. In the words adapted from famous vision of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:

"Let freedom ring. And when this happens, and when we allow freedom Ring- when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able
to speed up that day when all of God's children-black and white, Jew and Pagan, Protestant and Catholic - will be able to join Hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

'Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty,
We are free at last!'"

Because no one is free until we ALL are free.

That is my dream.

So Mote it Be.

----- Duane "Raven Spirit" Marshall, USAR
          ravenspirit70 @ hotmail.com

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Press Release from Americans United

Bush Administration Agrees To Approve Wiccan Pentacle For Veteran Memorials

Settlement In Americans United Lawsuit Comes After Discovery Of A Pattern Of Bias Against Minority Faith

April 23, 2007
The Bush administration has conceded that Wiccans are entitled to have the pentacle, the symbol of their faith, inscribed on government-issued memorial markers for deceased veterans, Americans United for Separation of Church and State announced today.

The settlement agreement, filed today with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, brings to a successful conclusion a lawsuit Americans United brought against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in November.

The litigation charged that denying a pentacle to deceased Wiccan service personnel, while granting religious symbols to those of other traditions, violated the U.S. Constitution.

"This settlement has forced the Bush Administration into acknowledging that there are no second class religions in America, including among our nation's veterans," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director. "It is a proud day for religious freedom in the United States."

Continued Lynn, "Sadly, the refusal of the federal government to recognize the Wiccan pentacle seems to have been built on inexcusable bias, a foundation that has crumbled under the press of this litigation."

In the lawsuit, Americans United represented Roberta Stewart, whose husband, Sgt. Patrick Stewart, was killed in combat in Afghanistan in 2005; Karen DePolito, whose husband, Jerome Birnbaum, is a veteran of the Korean War who died last year; Circle Sanctuary, a prominent Wiccan congregation; Jill Medicine Heart Combs, whose husband is severely ill; and the Isis Invicta Military Mission, a Wiccan and Pagan congregation serving military personnel.

The litigation was coordinated by Richard B. Katskee, AU assistant legal director with oversight by Ayesha N. Khan, AU legal director. They were assisted by other attorneys in the office, including Aram Schvey, AU litigation counsel.

Americans United's attorneys uncovered evidence that the VA's refusal to recognize the Pentacle was motivated by bias toward the Wiccan faith. President George W. Bush, when he was governor of Texas, had opposed the right of Wiccans to meet at a military base in that state. Bush's opinion of Wiccans was taken into consideration when making decisions on whether to approve the Pentacle.

"Many people have asked me why the federal government was so stubborn about recognizing the Wiccan symbol," said AU's Lynn. "I did not want to believe that bias toward Wiccans was the reason, but that appears to have been the case. That's discouraging, but I'm pleased we were able to put a stop to it."

AU's Khan welcomed the settlement.

"It is rank hypocrisy for this administration to claim publicly that it cares about religious freedom and equality but then to quietly and deliberately discriminate against a minority faith like Wicca," she said. "Until now, this administration's view has been that Wiccans are good enough to fight for their country, but not good enough to be acknowledged with a proper headstone."

Under the terms of the Circle Sanctuary v. Nicholson settlement, the federal government will recognize the right of Wiccans to have the pentacle made available as an emblem of belief for inscription on headstones, grave markers and memorial plaques. The VA will add the symbol to its list of available emblems of belief.

In addition, the VA will make markers bearing the pentacle - an encircled, intertwined five-pointed star - available to the families of Stewart, Birnbaum and others who request them.

AU noted that the VA's list of 38 approved symbols for government gravestones, markers and plaques includes emblems for Christians, Muslims, Atheists, Hindus, Humanists and members of the Eckankar, Serbian Orthodox and United Moravian faiths.

A Wiccan group first petitioned the VA for approval of the pentacle years ago. Officials at the agency dragged their feet on the request but in the interim approved the symbols of six other religions and belief systems. Among them was a Sikh emblem, which the VA approved in just a few weeks.

Wicca is a nature-based religion grounded in pre-Christian beliefs. Circle Sanctuary says the Wiccan religion honors the Divine as both Mother and Father, encompasses love and respect of Nature, celebrates the cycles of Sun and Moon, and encourages adherents to live in harmony with other humans and the greater Circle of Life.

Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.

March 19, 2007
Christa Landon

In St. Paul, MN, in the windswept plaza before the state Capitol, 150-175 Pagans gathered in the driving sleet. Some had driven hours through the worst snowstorm of the year to be there. A second storm was due to arrive later that afternoon.

This was the first public action of Upper Midwest Pagan Alliance.

One person had flown to be there: 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.  She had left her comatose Wiccan veteran Gary Combs (Bear) in a VA hospital in Ohio, to speak these words:

Press Release from Upper Midwest Pagan Alliance

Supporters Stand Together at the State Capitol
in Support Wiccan Veterans Religious Rights

MINNEAPOLIS, MN, February 24, 2007 - An estimated 150-175 Pagans, including Veterans, braved the worst winter storm of the season (high winds, snow) to stand together. The Upper Midwest Pagan Alliance, a Twin-Cities-based religious tolerance organization, sponsoried community ceremony at the State Capitol mall in St. Paul on February 24, 2007 at noon to raise awareness about religious discrimination at the US Department of Veterans Affairs. 

The Department of Veteran's Affairs has been actively pursuing policies that are discriminatory and harmful to veterans and infringe on the religious freedoms guaranteed by the US Constitution.  The VA has been denying religious designation to adherents of the Wiccan faith by not allowing the emblem of their faith to be placed on the headstones and memorial markers of deceased veterans.

Although the VA has approved the emblems of 38 other religions and belief systems to be included on the headstones of deceased veterans, including symbols for the Tenrikyo Church, Eckankar, Izumo, Taishakyo, Sufism Reoriented, and even Atheism, it refuses to approve the use of the Wiccan symbol, the pentacle, an interlaced five pointed star within a circle.

During the public ceremony at the Capitol, participants added cloth ties to a pentacle sculpture, which will be displayed in regional businesses. Afterward, participants formed the world's largest human pentacle, as a symbol of the importance of this issue to Veterans, and dedication to the issues resolution, and in support of religious freedom.

Participants representing many different faith groups and organizations from around Minnesota and other states joined together to help support the religious freedoms for all our veterans. The Pentacle Rights Ritual is open to the public. All who honor our veterans and the rights they have guarded with their lives are invited to attend.

The Upper Midwest Pagan Alliance is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting religious tolerance and accommodation through public education and grassroots community activities. 

Supporters Stand Together at the State Capitol
in Support Wiccan Veterans Religious Rights

MINNEAPOLIS, MN, February 24, 2007 - An estimated 150-175 Pagans, including Veterans, braved the worst winter storm of the season (high winds, snow) to stand together. The Upper Midwest Pagan Alliance, a Twin-Cities-based religious tolerance organization, sponsoried community ceremony at the State Capitol mall in St. Paul on February 24, 2007 at noon to raise awareness about religious discrimination at the US Department of Veterans Affairs. 

The Department of Veteran's Affairs has been actively pursuing policies that are discriminatory and harmful to veterans and infringe on the religious freedoms guaranteed by the US Constitution.  The VA has been denying religious designation to adherents of the Wiccan faith by not allowing the emblem of their faith to be placed on the headstones and memorial markers of deceased veterans.

Although the VA has approved the emblems of 38 other religions and belief systems to be included on the headstones of deceased veterans, including symbols for the Tenrikyo Church, Eckankar, Izumo, Taishakyo, Sufism Reoriented, and even Atheism, it refuses to approve the use of the Wiccan symbol, the pentacle, an interlaced five pointed star within a circle.

During the public ceremony at the Capitol, participants added cloth ties to a pentacle sculpture, which will be displayed in regional businesses. Afterward, participants formed the world's largest human pentacle, as a symbol of the importance of this issue to Veterans, and dedication to the issues resolution, and in support of religious freedom.

Participants representing many different faith groups and organizations from around Minnesota and other states joined together to help support the religious freedoms for all our veterans. The Pentacle Rights Ritual is open to the public. All who honor our veterans and the rights they have guarded with their lives are invited to attend.

The Upper Midwest Pagan Alliance is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting religious tolerance and accommodation through public education and grassroots community activities. 

For more information, contact:    www.UMPaganAlliance.com

Pagans Turn Out in Severe Storm to Stand Up for Vets

February 24, 2007, Minneapolis, MN
Christa Landon

CUUPS Vice President, Jill Medicine Heart, flew from her comatose Veteran husband in Ohio to join with 150-175 from Wisconsin and Minnesota at the state capitol in St. Paul, MN. Braving the worst winter storm of the year, Wiccans and other Pagans came to bless the Vets, military personnel and their families, and to call for an end to the VA's ban on the use of the Pentagram on the headstones of Pagan/Wiccan vets whose families have requested it.  About 1800 Wiccans and other Pagans are currently serving in the US military.

The event was organized by a new regional coalition, the Upper Midwest Pagan Alliance, which includes Wiccans, Neopagans, Reconstructionists, Heathens, Native Americans, and others.

For a fuller description, go to

The Headstone case is scheduled to go to trial on June 29, 2007

Feb. 1, 2006

They need all the help, correspondence, etc., you may have had with officials relative to Pentacle Quest, immediately. While you're at it, sacrifice some little luxury to join Americans United for the Separation of Church and State.  Empower the institutions that empower us!

Above is Lady Liberty League's press release which includes an article about the Veteran Pentacle Quest in the Federal District Court of Western Wisconsin.  Associated Press wire service has distributed the story and so various versions of it are being posted media of all kinds.  

Thanks to Scott Bauer and the editor and publisher of the Racine Journal Times
(Wisconsin newspaper).
Website: http://www.journaltimes.com/articles/2007/02/01/ap-state-wi/d8n14fag0.txt