Even On Memorial Day, Some U.S. Soldiers Killed In Iraq and Afghanistan Cannot Rest in Peace
A Whacko Anti-Gay Cult Protests at Soldiers' Funerals While the VA Discriminates Against Family of Fallen Sergeant Because of Their Wiccan Faith
(Updated 6:30 p.m. EDT Monday, May 29, 2006)
By Skeeter Sanders
As Americans pause this Memorial Day weekend to remember the sacrifices paid by the men and women of the U.S. armed forces who died in this country's wars, some of our fallen soldiers are unable to rest in peace, thanks to the extreme homophobia of a whacko religious cult and the unlawful religious bias of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
On the one hand, members of the ultra-paranoid Westboro Baptist Church have been angering the families and friends of more than 100 U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan by staging highly offensive protests at their funerals. And they plan to do it again next weekend in Maine.
On the other hand, the family of a Nevada soldier killed in Afghanistan is fighting the VA to have a pentacle -- a symbol of the soldier's Wiccan faith, which the VA refuses to recognize -- placed on his memorial headstone.
Cultists Even Protest President's Observance at Arlington National Cemetery
For almost a year, members of Fred Phelps' highly controversial and rabidly homophobic sect have been staging protests at soldiers' funerals across the country, carrying signs that read "Thank God for Dead Soldiers" and "God Hates Fags."
Even President Bush's annual Memorial Day observance Monday at Arlington National Cemetery wasn't free from the invective-filled taunts of cult members. But the Phelps clan was matched by counter-demonstrators in support of the troops.
Just hours before leading the wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Bush signed into law the "Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act," passed by Congress largely in response to Westboro's funerals protests.
Indeed, the cult's antics have led to legislative efforts in several states, in addition to Congress, to keep the protesters away from grieving families -- whom, needless to say, have been infuriated by the protests.
The new law bars protests within 300 feet of the entrance of a national cemetery and within 150 feet of a road into the cemetery. This restriction applies an hour before until an hour after a funeral. Those violating the act would face up to a $100,000 fine and up to a year in prison.
Phelps Blasts New Law as Unconstitutional, But Won't Fight It
The ink was barely dry on Bush's signature when Phelps, a disbarred former attorney, accused the president and Congress of "blatantly violating" his First Amendment rights. He vowed to continue with his protests, but would abide by the law's restrictions.
Monday's observance at Arlington National Cemetery was not a funeral, so demonstrators were free to speak their minds at the site. Bush's motorcade passed by several Westboro protesters on the way in, holding up their anti-gay signs.
Approximately 10 people from the Washington, D.C., chapter of FreeRepublic.com, a self-styled grassroots conservative group, staged a counter-protest, standing across the road with signs of their own expressing support for the troops, including one that read, "God bless our troops, defenders of freedom, American heroes."
Cult Claims Soldiers' Deaths Are "God's Wrath on U.S. for Tolerating Homosexuals"
The Topeka, Kansas-based cult -- 90 of its approximately 100 members are related by blood or marriage to the iron-willed Phelps -- plans to travel to Maine to protest at the funeral June 3 of Sergeant Corey Dan, who was killed in Iraq on March 13.
Dan, a member of the 101st Airborne Division, was killed when his Humvee was attacked with a roadside bomb and small arms fire. The Phelps clan claims that Dan and other American soldiers killed in Iraq "are being struck down by God for defending a nation that tolerates homosexuality."
Phelps Compared to Taliban, Hitler
Phelps -- whose religious views are so extreme that he's been compared to the Taliban and whose hatred of homosexuals rivals Hitler's hatred of Jews -- has managed in the past year to make enemies across the political spectrum with his funeral protests.
That Phelps and his sect has long drawn the ire of gays is beside the point; he has also drawn condemnation even from archconservatives -- including talk-show hosts Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, G. Gordon Liddy and Bill O'Reilly -- none of whom have ever been known for being friendly toward gays themselves.
Soldier's Brother Rips "Heartless" Phelps
Dan's half-brother, Ritchie, said he was stunned to learn of the sect's plans when the family still is devastated by the soldier's death. "How can you be so heartless and then call yourself a man of God, is one of my questions," Ritchie Dan told WMTW-TV of Portland, referring to Phelps.
Several veterans groups were planning to show their support for the Dan family at the funeral. Ritchie Dan said he hoped the crowd would shield his family from any of the protesters.
"I'm looking at this as sacred ground, because it's not supposed to be about anything but Corey on that day," he said. "He gave all there was to give, and he deserves at least one day of peace."
A motorcycle group made up of ex-soldiers, known as the Patriot Guard, also plans to be at the service. The motorcyclists, who attend soldiers’ funerals by invitation, carry flags and form a human shield between soldiers’ families and protesters.
Local law-enforcement officials said they were hoping for the best next Saturday, but were preparing for the worst, noting that a Westboro protest at a soldier's funeral in Iowa last week turned violent when an outraged relative of the fallen soldier attacked the Phelps clan, sparking a melee that had to be broken up by police.
Westboro Indirectly Linked to White-Supremacist "Christian Identity" Movement
The sect bases its raison d'etre around its central belief that "God hates fags" (its best-known slogan and the address of its primary Web site) and that nearly every tragedy in the world -- from wars to epidemics to disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the Asian tsunami -- is linked to society's increasing tolerance and acceptance of gay men, lesbians and bisexuals. Phelps claims God hates homosexuals "above all other kinds of sinners."
While the all-white Westboro is not known to be directly connected to the white-supremacist Christian Identity movement, many of Phelps' sermons do reflect some of the racist and anti-Semitic principles held by the followers of Christian Identity -- whose largest component historically has been the Ku Klux Klan:
*** Westboro holds that they, not the Israelites, are the "chosen people" and that Jews are "filthy" and "have no lamb."
*** Phelps has been accused of preaching that black people were born of Ham, the son of Noah, as a punishment for ridiculing Noah and that black people are therefore the "servants of the servant."
*** The sect claims that the United States is "the true Israel."
*** Westboro members declare that they are "the last line of defense against the true forces of evil in the world" and will be the sole survivors of Judgment Day; when that time comes, they will be recognized as "God's Chosen and the rest of the world will be cast into Hell."
*** In the 1980s, Phelps was a regular guest on Scriptures for America, a video series of Christian Identity teachings, hosted by Peter J. Peters. Tapes of Phelps' appearances on the show, as well as tapes of his regular sermons, are sold in Christian Identity mail-order catalogues.
Westboro is monitored as a hate group by the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith and the Southern Poverty Law Center. Not only is Westboro opposed by supporters of gay rights, but the vast majority of Christian groups -- even those who agree with Westboro that homosexuality is a sin -- oppose its theology and practice, believing it to be incompatible with authentic Christian teachings.
The Southern Baptist Convention, in fact, expelled Westboro in 1981 for what SBC leaders at the time said was its "extremist" interpretations of Scripture and its "unhealthy, almost incestuous" makeup.
* * *
Why Won't VA Allow Pentacle on Wiccan Soldier's Memorial?
Meanwhile, state officials in Nevada are pressing the Department of Veterans Affairs to allow the family of a Wiccan soldier killed in Afghanistan to place a pentacle -- a five-pointed star inside a circle that is the symbol of his faith -- on his memorial headstone.
VA officials so far have refused to grant the requests of the family of Sergeant Patrick Stewart, 34, who was killed in Afghanistan last September when the Nevada Army National Guard helicopter he was in was shot down.
Stewart was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
Other Religious Symbols Common on Soldier Memorials
The memorial headstones of other soldiers killed in the line of duty often include religious symbols -- crosses for Christians, Stars of David for Jews, crescent and stars for Muslims and sunbursts for Buddhists, among others.
"Every veteran and military member deserves recognition for their contributions to our country," said Tim Tetz, executive director of the Nevada Office of Veterans Services.
The state's top veterans official said Thursday that he was "diligently pursuing" the matter in cooperation with Govenor Kenny Guinn, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) and Rep. Jim Gibbons (R-Nevada).
"Sergeant Stewart and his family deserve recognition for their contributions to our country," Tetz said. "It's unfortunate the process is taking so long, but I am certain Sgt. Patrick will ultimately receive his marker with the Wiccan symbol."
VA Accused of Religion-Based Discrimination
The Veterans Affairs' National Cemetery Administration allows only approved emblems of religious beliefs on government headstones. Over the years, it has approved more than 30, including symbols for the Tenrikyo Church, United Moravian Church and Sikhs. There's also an emblem for atheists — but none for Wiccans.
That exclusion has led to accusations that the VA's refusal to recognize Stewart's Wiccan faith is unlawful religion-based discrimination, in violation of both federal anti-discrimination statutes and the First Amendment of the Constitution.
What Wicca Is -- and Isn't
While Wicca traces its roots back thousands of years before the advent of Christianity and does not actively prosteltyze, most of its modern-day adherents converted to the faith from other religions. A disproportionately high percentage of Wiccans are former Roman Catholics.
According to the 2001 American Religious Identification Survery conducted for the Census Bureau, about 140,000 Americans identify themselves as Wiccans.
Wiccans are pantheists who believe that the universe -- and everything in it -- are the physical manifestations of the divine. Thus, they worship the Earth and believe they must give back to the community. Wiccans are part of a broader community of Nature-worshipping Pagans.
Contrary to a belief widely held among many Christians, Wiccans do not believe in the devil, let alone worship it. Wiccans say the devil was a creation of the early Christian church to demonize the ancient pre-Christian dieties as part of the church's effort to convert Wiccans and other Pagans in Europe and elsewhere to Christianity.
Widow Planning Alternative Memorial Day Service for Husband
Stewart's widow, Roberta, said she's hopeful that she'll be able to place a pentacle to her late husband's government-issued memorial plaque.
While Memorial Day services are scheduled for Monday at the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in the Stewart's hometown of Fernley, Roberta Stewart plans to hold an alternative service at a nearby park.
###
Volume I, Number 27
Copyright 2006, Skeeter Sanders. All rights reserved.