In the United States, today is Memorial Day, a day in which we as a nation mourn and remember our fallen soldiers. Interestingly enough, while homage has been paid towards them, there is still discrimination for many when they aren’t wearing uniforms and look like everyone else in the military. The stereotype of our everyday fighting men and women is that they are Midwestern or Southern Christians who love their country. Their parents have the American flag waving on their front porch, and they come from a conservative background. This background has taught them the fundamentals of God, country, and family.

What is left out are the many people in the military who are LGTBQIA, Neopagan, Witches, and Heathens. There are also plenty of our servicemen and women who embrace other religious faiths such as Islam. Along with that, there are many who are liberal and progressive. But there is an erasure in the minds of many Americans that these soldiers would even exist to begin with. Liberals and progressives are often viewed as conscientious objectors or anti-war protesters, burning the flag and are viewed by many conservatives as nothing more than traitors who don’t belong in the country because of their dissidence.

For Neopagans and Witches, there was a lot of religious discrimination in the military affiliate-wise. For many years, they have opted to have “No Preference” or “Other” on their dogtags in order to hide their identities (not that much choice was given to them). Witchcraft itself was not viewed as a religion but rather as a satanic cult (apologies to Satanists out there; you guys are awesome!).

1990’s
I remember in 1997, Fort Hood in Austin, Texas, gave their permission to support an open circle called the Fort Hood Open Circle, a religious meeting for Wiccans. It wasn’t a large gathering as I recall, but merely a couple of dozen maybe. Well, okay, that is a large Neopagan gathering, especially on a military base, where people choose to come out of the broom closet and share their values and beliefs. Soon after, Wiccan circles popped up in other bases.

Rep. Bob Barr objected to Neopaganism and Witchcraft in the Armed Forces. He was a Republican from the state of Georgia, and is most famous for being the prosecutor against then President Bill Clinton during his impeachment trial. He is also famous for writing the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a law which prohibited same-sex marriages from being federally recognized. Barr heard about the Wiccan Circle, and immediately wrote a letter calling for the sacred spaces to be taken down. He vehemently disagreed with non-Christians being in the military, especially Witches. In fact, I also remember getting the news from TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network) that organizations like the Family Research Council and the Christian Coalition were calling for people to NOT join the military until this was taken care of!  

Barr and his allies felt that Witchcraft in the military was an oxymoron, and that the military had zero right to the First Amendment. Of course, the irony is that if this were really the case, then Christian chaplains and church services would also be banned. But they weren’t, and it was a clear act of discrimination. Although the case dropped eventually, George W. Bush – a governor at the time for the state of Texas  – stated famously that Witchcraft was not a religion and that the government needed to reassess their decision.

Sgt. Patrick Stewart
On September 25th, 2005, Sgt. Patrick Stewart was killed in Afghanistan. His Nevada Army National Guard Chinook helicopter was on its way back to base when it was shot down from the sky by a rocket-propelled grenade. He was 34 years old and a practicing Wiccan.

Sgt. Stewart was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart. However, the Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) did not recognize Wicca. What’s interesting is that the VA must approve the symbols, and at that time about 30 were known…even one for atheists. But Wicca seemed to be another creature altogether. No one wanted to deal with witches. The emblem waiting to be approved was a pentacle, and his widow, Roberta Stewart, wanted that on his gravestone.

Just shy of one year later on September 13th, 2006, then-governor of Nevada Kenny Guinn gave permission for the state to allow the pentacle on Sgt. Stewart’s grave in Nevada. The states had the right to make those decisions if the fallen soldier was buried in a state’s veteran cemetery. On the weekend of November 16-18th 2006, the headstone with the pentacle was installed.

I didn’t remember the specifics of this one; what I do remember were the national headlines featuring the Americans United for the Separation of Church and State (AUSCS) filing a lawsuit against the government. Representing Roberta Stewart, the AUSCS stated that the federal government was not upholding the First Amendment by deliberately excluding the pentacle on a veteran’s gravestone. The military had a list at that time of 38 accepted signs; even doing that was considered discriminatory.

Finally in 2007, the VA and the AUSCS came to an agreed settlement: the pentacle, moving forward, would be placed on all gravestones, plaques, and markers issued by the VA for Wiccans. In later years other symbols followed, such as the Awen for Druids and Mjolnir for Heathens.

Captain Don Larsen
The situation seemed to simmer down (at least publicly in the media) when another event took place in 2007. A Christian chaplain by the name of Captain Don Larsen had decided to leave the Christian religion; more specifically, Pentecostal Christianity. I admired him because I left the Pentecostal denomination as well for Witchcraft several years earlier. It is never easy.

Captain Larsen was stationed at Camp Anaconda in Iraq, and was a frequent evangelist to his fellow soldiers. But after much contemplation and dealing with mixed feelings and beliefs, he became Wiccan. When he did, he attempted to become a Wiccan chaplain. Unfortunately, it was denied. Captain Larsen was also removed from Iraq and any future chaplaincy service.

When I read Captain Larsen’s story, I am reminded of myself. Although I am younger than he is, I have followed a similar path of publicly doing one thing and privately another. So I strongly empathize with him. I don’t know if Captain Larsen is still active with the military or what has become of him, but it would be interesting to compare religious notes. At least to me.

Conclusion
Sometimes we are granted rights. Other times they are implied. And still at other times, we have to fight for them even if documents say we are granted them. While symbols on headstones seem trivial for some, it is actually fighting for your identity both in life and in death. One deserves to be remembered and honored for who they were, not for who they hid themselves to be. Authenticity is a must in our times – any time in fact. But especially now with the rise of right-wing extremism in certain countries, or the genocidal atrocities made in others because the majority feel threatened by a minority.

My blog post today was written to give you a sense of what happens when we need to fight for being recognized, even when we serve and die for the love of our nation. At times our own people and leaders will vilify what we do and who we are. We continue to try and do the right thing, hoping that in the end at some point we will be rewarded with recognition.

But that isn’t always the case. For many of us, history is written by the winners (which are oft the majority in power). Minorities like the Chinese, LGBTQIA folks, Sikhs, Witches, Neopagans, Heathens, Palestinians, Tibetans, Yazidis, Native Americans, Australian Aborigines, Jews, Afro-Diasporic religious practitioners, and others face day-to-day persecutions and bias in many places around the world. The world is fraught with right-wing extremism rising up and even in power in many places around the world. Nothing has ever been simple, especially when battling for your right to live as true to yourself as possible.

Remember: hail to those who have gone before you to forge the path you now walk!

Hail to those who continue to pave the way!

Hail, to the Victorious Dead!

Eirene kai Hugieia!
(Peace and Health!)
Oracle