For the second year, Lodge Yggdrasill organized a local gathering for Memorial Day at Fort Snelling Cemetery. This year approximately 30 people gathered at 10am on this beautiful sunny day to honor Sgt. Jason Schumann and Specialist Daniel Schrankler.
Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty was having a major event in the middle of Fort Snelling Cemetery, so it was a bit challenging to get to the grave sites. The graves were on opposite sides of the cemetery, which required driving around the gubernatorial event.
At each grave site, they gathered, said a few words, laid down a pentacle made of vines, and then laid flowers and other items. Lodge Yggdrasill supplied carnations for those who did not bring flowers. The ceremonies were short, but expressed a heartfelt simplicity.
Army veteran Mark Digatono read “Cry of the Ancestors” by Sawyer Finn
Out of the clay and sandWe rose…out of the mist and darkWith our first breathWe dared…to sail beyond the Ninth Waveinto your future of mythic talesUpon our sturdy backsWe carved…in blood and bonethe history of your communityAs memories and dreams,We gifted…Our eternal legacyto your children’s childrenIn the circle of time,We are you!Remember us, we cry!
Digatono missed last year's service because he was in the hospital trying to get out of the ICU, so he was especially happy to be speaking this year.
Specialist Martha Crandall also addressed the crowd, expressing that soldiers sacrifice, but their families also sacrifice. Looking around, it was clear that many people had sacrificed to get us to the place we are now.
Sgt. Jason A. Schumann was killed May 19, 2007 when a bomb exploded near his vehicle in Ad Diwaniyah, Iraq, about 100 miles west of Baghdad. Specialist Daniel Schrankler served in Vietnam and passed away April 13, 2007. They are both marked by a Pentacle headstones.
Pagans fought hard for ten years for the right to have those pentacles on headstones. As a significant local component of the quest, in the freezing cold of February 2007, the Upper Midwest Pagan Alliance organized a large rally on the steps of the Minnesota capitol building which participants are still talking about with pride. Finally on April 20, 2007, the VA conceded and approved the pentacle as one of it's authorized symbols.
Afterward local Pagans Linda and Rick opened up their home to all in attendance. This was much appreciated. If there was a Pagan Homes & Gardens magazine, this house would be featured. They have two waterfalls, a pool, and their back yard borders a state park. People relaxed to the sounds of animals and reggae music. It was a wonderfully satisfying Memorial Day for those in attendance.
A locally produced video by Cruiked Crow Productions with images from similar 2009 gatherings across the nation is available on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1T2GBquQ7Hw
Thank you to Lodge Yggdrasill for organizing this event.
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