USVA emblems for headstones and markers

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs

United States Department of Veterans Affairs

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs is a government-run military veteran benefit system with Cabinet-level status. It is the United States government’s second largest department, after the United States Department of Defense...

(VA) maintains many cemeteries specifically devoted to veterans. Most have various rules regarding what must take place in order to be interred there.

The VA only permits graphics on Government-furnished headstones or markers that are approved emblems of belief, the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

Union Shield

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

, the Civil War Confederate Southern Cross of Honor

Southern Cross of Honor

The Southern Cross of Honor is the name of two separate and distinct military honors presented to Confederate military personnel and veterans. The original wartime medal, aka Confederate Medal of Honor, was a military decoration meant to honor officers, noncommissioned officers, and privates for...

, and the Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...

insignia. Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...

has similar restrictions on headstones, though it is maintained by US Department of the Army.

Generally the VA adds a new symbol a few months after receiving a petition from a faith group. However, the Wiccan Pentacle was only added (in 2007) after a lawsuit by Americans United for the Separation of Church and State.

The first "interfaith" headstone—including a Wicca

Wicca

Wicca , is a modern Pagan religious movement. Developing in England in the first half of the 20th century, Wicca was popularised in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica."...

n Pentacle

Pentacle

A pentacle is an amulet used in magical evocation, generally made of parchment, paper or metal , on which the symbol of a spirit or energy being evoked is drawn. It is often worn around the neck, or placed within the triangle of evocation...

for Jan Deanna O'Rourke and a Christian Cross

Christian cross

The Christian cross, seen as a representation of the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, is the best-known religious symbol of Christianity...

for her husband—was installed at Arlington National Cemetery on May 1, 2007, and dedicated on July 4, 2007.

Religious headstone and marker symbols

The following emblems and emblem numbers are publicized as available for Government headstones and markers as of June 2011. A process is in place to consider approving additional religious or belief system emblems requested by the families of individuals eligible for these headstones and markers.

Religious headstone and marker symbols

See also