Symbolic

At the Veterans Memorial Cemetery in the small town of Fernley, Nev., there is a wall of brass plaques for local heroes. But one space is blank. There is no memorial for Sgt. Patrick D. Stewart.

That's because Stewart was a Wiccan, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has refused to allow a symbol of the Wicca religion -- a five-pointed star within a circle, called a pentacle -- to be inscribed on U.S. military memorials or grave markers.

The department has approved the symbols of 38 other faiths; about half of are versions of the Christian cross. It also allows the Jewish Star of David, the Muslim crescent, the Buddhist wheel, the Mormon angel, the nine-pointed star of Bahai and something that looks like an atomic symbol for atheists.

Stewart, 34, is believed to be the first Wiccan killed in combat. He was serving in the Nevada National Guard when the helicopter in which he was riding was shot down in Afghanistan last September. He previously had served in the Army in Korea and Operation Desert Storm. He was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star.

Of course it's silly not to permit him to display his star. But anyway, a few observations. The VA National Cemetery Administration web site shows thirty six of the permissible symbols, omitting only the Christian Scientist Cross & Crown and the Muslim Islamic 5 Pointed Star, both "Not shown because of copyrights". The Christian Scientist Cross & Crown has the phrase "raise the dead". Kind of voodoo-ish, no?



Meanwhile, I can't even find "the Muslim Islamic 5 Pointed Star" on the internet. Is it maybe the Five Percent Nation? Or is it the five-pointed star found with the crescent on many islamic flags? So they have one already. Not to mention Sgt. Patrick D. Stewart received the bronze star, which is also five-pointed.

By the way, the Buddhist symbol should really be a swastika, not the cheesy wheel the VA National Cemetery Administration has.

Finally, what's the symbol for agnostics? According to the Church of the Apathetic Agnostic

...it is considered that "?" would be an appropriate symbol for agnostics, however, I am not aware of a supplier.

Another option - applicable to atheists / agnostics / freethinkers - is the Darwin Fish...