WREATHS ACROSS AMERICA - Saturday, December 19, 2020
As yearly Sponsors and Volunteers for the Wreaths Across America (WAA) organization and program to distribute these beautiful wreaths with a red ribbon to fallen veterans' graves, this year we were honored to do so at the Florida National Cemetery (FNC) in Bushnell, FL, as this year we are spending most of the winter here in Clermont and Summerfield in FL.Wreaths Across America Day is an official national date, unanimously voted on and declared by Congress on December 13, 2008, to be celebrated on either the 2nd or 3rd Saturday of December, yearly. This year it was on the 3rd Saturday, on December 19, 2020.
Their mission is threefold:
This was our first visit to the FNC and we can honestly describe it as beautiful as it is peaceful. The most impressive thing for us was to see that there is no distinction among the graves due to branch of service, rank or religion. All graves were together, much the same as how they fought on the battlefield... ALL just brothers and sisters of the same family... the United States Armed Forces. This mission is perhaps embodied best by the words of President Ronald Reagan, on January 5, 1967, in his Inaugural Address said... “Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children, what it was once like in the United States where (and when) men were free.”
WAA's story is amazing and inspiring, and we urge you to read about it, having been started by the selfless act of one family (Morrill and Karen Worcester, of the Worcester Wreath Company in Harrington ME), wishing to quietly honor fallen veterans. Their efforts and growing contributions to that end expanded to a greater coverage of our heroes graves at Arlington when a photo of all the green wreaths with a red ribbon contrasting against the snow-covered cemetery canvas of headstones went viral, giving birth to an army of contributors and volunteers, expanding the coverage from 7 memorial wreaths (one for each branch of service and POW/MIA) at Arlington National Cemetery, to over 1.7 MILLION wreaths across over 2,000 cemeteries in the continental US, plus Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and at sea, plus a few other countries in Europe, in which American servicemen and women and other heroes have been laid to rest, or are deemed to have last rested there.
The story of how the FNC in Bushnell was included in the WAA program is equally inspiring, having been started in 2006 by a veteran and member of the US Military Vets Motorcycle Club, Randy Lewer. His motorcycle club, realizing that the FNC had not been included in the distribution of wreaths, hosted the first ceremony with the 7 sponsored ceremonial wreaths, to honor their fallen brothers and sisters, with some 40 people in attendance in pouring rain. The second year, with the help of the Civil Air Patrol and a few other sponsors, 88 wreaths were laid. Fast forward to 2017, 27,000 live wreaths were placed with an estimated 8,000 people in attendance. In 2019 the goal was 30,000 and in 2020, it is estimated that over 35,000 wreaths were placed on graves. Of interest is that FNC is 512.9 acres, began in 1988 and has about 120,000 grave sites, with about 108,000 being veterans. At approximately 7,000 burials per year. It is estimated that it will reach capacity by the year 2030, being one of the busiest cemeteries in the nation.
Bill is a legal immigrant having served in the US Army for 6 years to get his Naturalization to citizenship, and then served further in the US Coast Guard Reserve. As an American and a veteran, contributing to and volunteering to lay wreaths on his brothers and sisters resting places across all branches of service for WAA is truly an honor.
The story behind how WAA became the magnificent demonstration of Remembering our fallen heroes, Honoring those who currently serve, and Teaching new generations the value of the Freedom we are all blessed with today, OR to find out how you can contribute or volunteer, you can do a Google Search for 'The Story of Wreaths Across America' or go to their website at www.wreathsacrossamerica.org It is a 501 (3)C enterprise. You will be glad you did.
Their mission is threefold:
1) To always Remember or fallen military heroes' sacrifices for us,
2) To Honor the Men and Women who currently stand their post in the Armed Forces to preserve our freedom, and
3) To Teach new generations the value of Freedom.
Every cemetery that is registered to be included in the Wreaths Across America program gets SEVEN (7) Ceremonial Wreaths... ONE (1) for each BRANCH OF SERVICE. Do you know which they all are?
U.S. Air Force,
U.S. Army,
U.S. Coast Guard,
U.S. Marine Corp,
U.S. Marine Corp,
U.S. Navy,
U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the
U.S. Public Health Service.
Of the Armed Services also, the POW/MIA is also remebered.
Others, though perhaps not formally members of the Armed Services are also honored as hoeroes, having fallen in defense of our nation in great disasters, like at ground zero of the World Trade Center in NYC, at the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville PA, where flight 93 was brought down by the passengers to prevent the terrorists from taking it to their target, and so on, among them first responders and civilians alike.
This was our first visit to the FNC and we can honestly describe it as beautiful as it is peaceful. The most impressive thing for us was to see that there is no distinction among the graves due to branch of service, rank or religion. All graves were together, much the same as how they fought on the battlefield... ALL just brothers and sisters of the same family... the United States Armed Forces. This mission is perhaps embodied best by the words of President Ronald Reagan, on January 5, 1967, in his Inaugural Address said... “Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children, what it was once like in the United States where (and when) men were free.”
WAA's story is amazing and inspiring, and we urge you to read about it, having been started by the selfless act of one family (Morrill and Karen Worcester, of the Worcester Wreath Company in Harrington ME), wishing to quietly honor fallen veterans. Their efforts and growing contributions to that end expanded to a greater coverage of our heroes graves at Arlington when a photo of all the green wreaths with a red ribbon contrasting against the snow-covered cemetery canvas of headstones went viral, giving birth to an army of contributors and volunteers, expanding the coverage from 7 memorial wreaths (one for each branch of service and POW/MIA) at Arlington National Cemetery, to over 1.7 MILLION wreaths across over 2,000 cemeteries in the continental US, plus Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and at sea, plus a few other countries in Europe, in which American servicemen and women and other heroes have been laid to rest, or are deemed to have last rested there.
The story of how the FNC in Bushnell was included in the WAA program is equally inspiring, having been started in 2006 by a veteran and member of the US Military Vets Motorcycle Club, Randy Lewer. His motorcycle club, realizing that the FNC had not been included in the distribution of wreaths, hosted the first ceremony with the 7 sponsored ceremonial wreaths, to honor their fallen brothers and sisters, with some 40 people in attendance in pouring rain. The second year, with the help of the Civil Air Patrol and a few other sponsors, 88 wreaths were laid. Fast forward to 2017, 27,000 live wreaths were placed with an estimated 8,000 people in attendance. In 2019 the goal was 30,000 and in 2020, it is estimated that over 35,000 wreaths were placed on graves. Of interest is that FNC is 512.9 acres, began in 1988 and has about 120,000 grave sites, with about 108,000 being veterans. At approximately 7,000 burials per year. It is estimated that it will reach capacity by the year 2030, being one of the busiest cemeteries in the nation.
Bill is a legal immigrant having served in the US Army for 6 years to get his Naturalization to citizenship, and then served further in the US Coast Guard Reserve. As an American and a veteran, contributing to and volunteering to lay wreaths on his brothers and sisters resting places across all branches of service for WAA is truly an honor.
The story behind how WAA became the magnificent demonstration of Remembering our fallen heroes, Honoring those who currently serve, and Teaching new generations the value of the Freedom we are all blessed with today, OR to find out how you can contribute or volunteer, you can do a Google Search for 'The Story of Wreaths Across America' or go to their website at www.wreathsacrossamerica.org It is a 501 (3)C enterprise. You will be glad you did.
To reach the Wreaths Across America organization, their phone number is (877) 385-9504 (7:30am - 7;00pm EST) or through the Contact Form at www.wreathsacrossamerica.org (Contact Us). They will typically respond within 24-48 hours.
Mary bought a WAA wreath that we will take to Sebastian Inlet FL, on December 27, 2020 to release at sea, in memory of her father, who's ashes were deposited into the ocean at Sebastian Inlet in 1998. The wreaths cost only $15 each from Wreaths Across America, and $5 of the $15 is donated by WAA back to any organization you choose or that sponsor WAA's activities, like the Civil Air Patrol, which helped expend their initial efforts.
So, since our friends, Mike and Magda Miley, who we met originally at Southern Hills RV Campground near Hermosa SD, live in Vero Beach FL, we made a date to meet them for lunch at the __________ in ______ on December 27th, and went to the pier at Sebastian Inlet before that to release her dad's wreath in the outgoing current. Unfortunately the pier was full of fishermen, which only made the release of the wreath that much more difficult as we did not want it to get caught on someone's line. Then the other problem was casting it out far enough at the end of the pier to reach the middle of the passage, so the main current could take it out to sea. Well, there was a good 20 feet between the end of the pier and the inner rail, so at best we were only able to just barely clear that rail... but thankfully we watched it float out with the current, to sea, and followed it until we just barely saw it clear the other pier. It was a an emotional as it was on the same day and place as his ashes were releases out to sea, ___ years prior.
Here are photos of that day.
Later we met our RV friends Mike and Magda Miley at the ________ in ______, had a wonderful lunch and then went to the nearby park to chat for awhile. That's the great thing about the good friends we make in the RV lifestyle. Though years may pass staying in touch only by email and Facebook, one always gets a chance to meet again and catch up. Here's some photos of our lunch and chat with Mike and Magda.
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