OKINAWA, Japan — The United States Navy has rejected demands that it remove a Bible on display at a “Missing Man” table honoring prisoners of war and those missing in action at the U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa.
The Christian Post reported that the Military Religious Freedom Foundation and 26 families in Okinawa sent a complaint to Rear Adm. Paul D. Pearigen alleging that the Bible’s inclusion was a violation of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and constituted a government promotion of religion.
Pearigen countered the protest by explaining that the Missing Man table has been a part of military tradition since it began at the end of the Vietnam War. He stated that since the Bible is one of nine symbolic references on the table and not the main focus of the table, it does not violate any military or constitutional laws. (TAB)
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