A soldier's freedom of religion

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has been denying surviving family members the right to have a Wiccan pentacle, and possibly other religious symbols, placed on the grave markers of deceased soldiers who were their husbands or wives, sons or daughters.

This has been causing quite an uproar, to say the least, because the soldiers died serving their country. Yet their country, where freedom of religion is one of its basic rights, is denying a deceased soldier's right of religious freedom when the VA denies Wiccan and other religious symbols on his or her military marker. I believe this is due, in part, to well-meaning people who simply do not understand that the Wiccan pentagram is not a symbol of the devil. Instead, it is well known, to anyone who has a computer, that the Wiccan symbol, a five-pointed star in a circle, represents the integration of the body and spirit, and the spiritual mastery of the four elements. This is not satanic worship. The pentagram has a history predating Christianity.

By contrast, my Air Force dog tags (1962-1966) listed my religion as Presbyterian. For those of you who do not know, the Presbyterian cross is allowed as a symbol on the grave marker for a veteran. Researchers state that the Presbyterian cross is actually the Celtic cross, and both are nearly identical. The Celtic cross originated about 5000 BCE, long before the advent of Christianity. In early Scotland, the Druids used the Celtic cross.

Some researchers say the Celtic cross is a navigational instrument, and that it was also used by the Mayans, as it is found in their artwork. My, oh my, civilizations on opposite sides of the globe were using the same symbol at about the same time?... I wonder how that could happen. (I do not know.)

So, as a Presbyterian, I could have the Celtic cross, something connected with the Druidcultism and Mayan mysticism, on my grave marker, but not a pentagram if I were Wiccan.

Many veterans and family members, widows and widowers of military personnel who have died urged the VA to reconsider its decision. I even wrote to a considerable number of senators and representatives to urge them to re-evaluate what freedom of religion means with regard to the VA's denial of the pentagram or other symbols on the grave markers of our fallen troops and deceased veterans.

On Feb. 26, I received a letter from William F. Tuerk, VA undersecretary for memorial affairs, in response to my letter to Sen. Maria Cantwell. He informed me that in order for the VA to change policy, the proposal must first appear in the Federal Register. That allows the opportunity for public comment of 60 days. The deadline for comment is March 20.

Regardless of your political or religious beliefs, I urge everyone who believes in freedom of religion to make comments in order to protect the religious freedom of our troops and veterans.

Folks can go to www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main, and work their way through the prompts to find Veterans Affairs and the proposed rule. You can type in "emblem of belief" in the keyword search field. When you make your comment, be quick about it, because there is a timer that will cut you off if you take more than a few minutes. You might prepare your remarks ahead of time and then cut and paste them into the comment section.

The way I look at it, whether members of our military die in action or not, they, and all our veterans, deserve the right to have whatever they want put on their grave marker — as an expression of their right to religious freedom.

I urge everyone to contact all of their friends and family who believe in freedom of religion, to support a soldier's/veteran's right to have freedom of religion, too.

Lastly, I hope everyone realizes how under-the-radar this VA process is. Hardly anyone in the general public knows about it.

Gary Clark of Marysville is a veteran who retired from the Washington Department of Veterans Affairs, where he worked in Seattle with homeless and incarcerated veterans.