Witches launch PR campaign for Wiccan war dead

[icymist]

Before every dangerous mission in Iraq, Capt. Richard A. Briggs Jr. stood on the hatch of his vehicle, drew a pentacle in the sky with his finger and recited the Wiccan Warrior Prayer for protection.

It was a quick, effortless ritual, but one that Briggs was thankful for in the spring of 2003 when his unarmored cargo truck turned a corner on an Iraqi road and rolled right into machine gun fire.

Briggs’ gods planned for him to come home that day. But had he died, he would have been denied a right given to countless other U.S. soldiers killed in battle: to have the symbol of his faith engraved on his U.S. military headstone.

“I have fought and nearly died in serving my country,” Briggs said. “And I think the U.S. government should mind the law, mind the Constitution and do the right thing — not only for me, but for guys who’ve died. Let their families rest in peace.”

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