When You Care - You Show It
In case you’re interested, since 1992 wreaths from Maine have decorated the graves of soldiers at Arlington Cemetery. These wreaths — some 105,000 of them — are donated by the Worcester Wreath Co. of Harrington, Maine . The owner, Merrill Worcester, not only provides the wreaths, but covers the trucking expense as well. Worchester has a website detailing the project, the people and the stories behind the project. The information below is from his website:
The Wreaths Across America project began in 1992. Wreaths Across America, a non profit 501-c3 organization, was formed as an extension of the Arlington Wreath Project. The Arlington Wreath program was started by Morrill Worcester (Worcester Wreath) in 1992 with the donation and laying of 5000 Christmas wreaths to Arlington National Cemetery. This became an annual journey for Mr. Worcester. Read more about this in the History of Arlington.
It was relatively obscure until 2005 when a photo of the stones adorned with wreaths and covered in snow circulated around the internet. The project received National attention. Thousands of requests poured in from all over the country from people wanting to emulate the Arlington project at their National and State cemeteries spurred the creation of “Wreaths Across America”. Unable to donate thousands of wreaths to each state, Mr. Worcester conceived the idea of sending 7 wreaths (one for each branch of the military as well as POW/MIA). In 2006 with the help of the CAP and other civic organizations, over 150 locations held wreath laying ceremonies simultaneously.
The Patriot Guard Riders volunteered as escort for the wreaths going to Arlington. This began the annual “Veterans Honor Parade” that travels the east coast in early December.
By 2007 the requests for more wreaths grew. The Worcester family established the non-profit group Wreaths Across America to further promote Veterans remembrance. The mission Remember, Honor and Teach characterized the projects goals perfectly.
By 2008 over 300 locations held wreath laying ceremonies in every state, Puerto Rico and 24 over seas cemeteries. Over 100,000 wreaths were placed on veterans graves. Over 60,000 volunteers participated.
WAA reached out to thousands of children with the message of Remember, Honor and Teach. The importance of honoring each fallen serviceman as an individual is stressed.
The wreath laying is now held annually on the second Saturday of December. December 13, 2008 was unanimously voted by the US Congress as “Wreaths Across America Day”. Wreaths Across America would not be successful without the help of the volunteers, many active organizations and the generosity of the trucking industry.
We collectively thank our military and their families for “Our Freedom”!
It’s a remarkable project and one that continues to prove what the passion and dream of ONE person can ignite. When you care about something or someone, you show it. You don’t worry about fame, or the news, or anyone noticing. You do it because you care. This is what comes out of efforts like that. Nice. Very nice.
