Wreaths Across America
Members of the Civil Air Patrol look for graves missing a wreath during the Wreaths Across America event at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies last year. Nearly 7,000 wreaths were placed, one for every grave at the cemetery.
A volunteer places a wreath in front of a headstone last year at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies.
Volunteers gather last year at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies to participate in Wreaths Across America.
For the ninth consecutive year, the George Washington Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution is participating in the Wreaths Across America campaign, with local sponsors being sought to purchase wreaths that will be placed in the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies in Washington County.
Wreaths Across America’s mission remembers the fallen, honors those who serve and teaches children the value of freedom. Its goal is to generate sponsors for wreaths that will be placed on veterans’ graves in each of nearly 900 national cemeteries in the United States and 25 on foreign soil.
Wreaths cost $15 each and are tax deductible. The George Washington Chapter has partnered with a national organization in which a third wreath will be provided for free for every two wreaths sponsored.
At noon on Dec. 17, a brief ceremony will be held, followed by the placing of the wreaths. Last year, more than 5,600 wreaths were placed at the cemetery, which serves the tri-state area as the final resting place for veterans, spouses and, in some cases, dependent children.
The origin of Wreaths Across America dates back 25 years, when Merrill Worcester, the owner of a nursery in Harrington, Maine, had an overabundance of Christmas wreaths and nothing to do with them.
Remembering a trip he had taken as a paperboy to Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., Worcester got the idea to donate his excess wreaths to the cemetery as a gesture of remembrance and honor for those men and women who served their country.
Wreaths Across America was founded as a national nonprofit organization in 2007 to continue and expand Worcester’s annual wreath-laying ceremony. In 2012, the 1 millionth wreath was placed at Arlington National Cemetery, and in 2014, for the first time, each of the 227,000 headstones at Arlington National Cemetery received a wreath.
The organization has since expanded to include more than 1,500 local fundraising groups in all 50 states, representing more than 1,000 participating locations.
The National Cemetery of the Alleghenies was established in 2008 on about 300 acres near the Washington and Allegheny county line.
It was created to serve the tri-state area when a study found that there are more than 300,000 veterans in this area. More than 12,000 people have been interred since the cemetery opened.
The George Washington Chapter started its partnership with the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies in 2008 when it raised the money to buy an electric four-person cart to transport families around the cemetery.
The chapter also has dedicated a boulder along the cemetery’s memorial walkway.
To sponsor a wreath, make checks payable to “Wreaths Across America” and send them to: Gary W. Timmons, local Wreaths Across America chairman, 13 Elm Lane, Wheeling, WVA 26003-4905. He also can be contacted at 304-242-8759. Deadline for sponsorship is Nov. 25.
For more information about Wreaths Across America, like the organization on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WAAHQ, or follow it on Twitter @WreathsAcross.
In 2015
• 901,000 remembrance wreaths were placed across the country, 240,815 of which were at Arlington National Cemetery.
• Nearly 70,000 volunteer at Arlington National Cemetery, with close to 1 million volunteers participating at 1,108 locations nationwide.
• 168 trucking companies and professional drivers helped deliver the wreaths.