3 days Ago By By Alisa Boswell For the News Press
In December 32 years ago, a wreath maker from Maine named Morrill Worcester decided he wanted to honor veterans with his surplus of wreaths. Worcester arranged for the wreaths to be placed in the Arlington National Cemetery in an older section of the cemetery that had fewer visitors. According to the Wreaths Across America website, Worcester visited the Arlington cemetery when he was 12 years old, which proved to be “an experience that would follow him throughout his life and career, reminding him that his good fortune was in large part due to the veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
” In 2005, when photos of the wreath-covered tombstones began to circulate the Internet, Worcester’s annual tradition became a national tradition overnight – a tradition that residents in Payne County, Oklahoma partake in every year. “We are proud to join 3,700 other cemeteries across America and abroad to be part of this tradition,” Floyd Branson, commander of the American Legion Post 129, told participants Saturday during the local Wreaths Across America event. “All of us have the same purpose today – to remember, to honor and to teach.
Remember the freedoms we enjoy have come with a price. Honor the men and women who pledged to give their lives so we can live in freedom. Teach our children that one day, they may also have to stand against tyranny and oppression.
” Carrie Wilhelm said her family learned about Wreaths Across America last year when the nonprofit organization Stillwater Chapter of DeMolay was invited to participate in the laying of the wreaths. “After the program, I watched my son, Noah, and the other young men from DeMolay carefully lay the wreaths on the veteran’s grave, kneel, say the veteran’s name and have a moment of silence,” she said. “It was incredibly touching to see how many volunteers participated.
Being a part of Wreaths Across America makes me very proud, especially when I see a younger generation learning about the significance of our veterans and taking the time to honor them.” Wreaths Across America is especially meaningful to Maggie Simms. “My husband spent almost four years in the Army Corp of Engineers.
It is meaningful for me and my family to be able to honor him with a wreath at Fairlawn Cemetery,” Simms said. “I lost an Uncle in WWII, and the presentation of the wreath for those missing and killed in action is significant for my family.” Wreaths Across America co-chair Carolyn Gang said it best in closing.
“We are here to remember not death but life,” she said. “We are not here today to decorate graves. We are here to remember and to be grateful.
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