By Larry Woda, USN Ret.
Even as a kid, I was awed by Arlington National Cemetery when my parents took my sisters and me to Washington, D.C. from our home in Ohio. It's not just the landscape that's impressive, but realization of all the history represented by those thousands of headstones which seem to stretch on forever.
If you never visited Arlington National Cemetery, let me describe it to you: rolling hills, winding roadways, clusters of mature trees, and small groups of people reading headstones here and there. Other than the sound of Taps being played at yet another funeral, it's a quiet place - a place for reflection and prayer, like any cemetery, but exaggerated by its pure magnitude and your awareness of the heroes resting here who each contributed in their own way to the freedom and quality of life we enjoy now.
Today, I had the privilege of joining hundreds, if not thousands, of volunteers to lay 10,000 wreathes at Arlington Cemetery. Margaret thought you might be interested in hearing about this, so here goes:
Starting out before dawn and dressed for a cold blustery day, I made my way by subway from Maryland across the District of Columbia to the McClellan Gate Arch, which is just inside the main entrance of Arlington National Cemetery. A crowd of several hundred volunteers was already there. Within a half hour or so, that number swelled to well over a thousand.
There were Boy Scouts from the state of Maine, grandmas and grandpas walking slowly with the help of canes, bikers with Vietnam service patches on their leathers, ROTC cadets, soldiers, sailors and hundreds of just ordinary folks like me who felt it was important to be there.
After receiving our instructions and some brief remarks by Mr. and Mrs. Merrill Worcester (owners of the Worcester Wreath Co. of Harrington, Maine, and the donor of these 10,000 wreaths), unloading of the two large tractor tailors and the reverent placing of wreaths began. The wreaths were placed carefully one by one with volunteers lingering at each marker to read and ponder the inscriptions on them. I placed wreaths at the graves of an enlisted Navy man who served in the Spanish American war, another on that of a Marine veteran of World War II and a third at the headstone of an Army officer who served both in Korea and in Vietnam.
In about three hours, both trucks were emptied and the volunteers began to make their way home. As I rode the subway back across town, I determined that I would do my level best to try to deserve the freedoms that those thousands of service men and women secured for us by their service. I also decided I will return next year and bring my high school age grandson.
You can read more about this annual event by checking the web-site at Wreathes Across America and reading The Washington Post article, A Holiday Tradition to Honor the Fallen.
And be sure to read Cindy Jones beautiful post, Moments of Silence During the Holiday Season. Thank you, Cindy, for allowing me to share your thoughts with my Crofton neighbors!
Copyright 2006-12. All rights reserved.
DISCLAIMER: Information contained in this post is deemed reliable on the date of publication, but it is not guaranteed and it is subject to change without notice.
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Margaret, That is an awesome sight. What an honor to be a part of this amazing event to give respect and homage to our brave solders. Thank you Larry for sharing this with us
Ginger
Margaret,
What a wonderful display of patriotism and caring!!! Thanks, Fran
Hi, Karen Anne - Living so close to Washington, D.C., we have so many opportunities to participate in history as it comes to life. We just don't do it enough. Thanks for the compliment - I'll pass it on to my husband who wrote this. And glad you like my blog... how is yours coming?
Fran - It is impressive! I hope to go see it, over the next few weeks. As I understand it, the wreaths remain in place through January - and then they look for volunteers to help remove them.
Mary - Larry says the wreaths are about 22-24 inches, fresh balsam greens, with a hand-made muli-loop velvet bow. A lot of people put in a lot of time on these before they even went on the trucks!
Ginger & Roger - Larry was glad to be part of this. We've been to Arlington before, for funerals and to take visiting exchange students, but neither of us had ever participated in Wreaths across America. This company donated, including the transportation, 15,000 wreaths this year - 10,000 to Arlington and 5,000 to other Veterans cemetaries across the country.
Margaret, Larry
Beautiful looking post you put together. Very nice. Love your photos.
Neal, thank you!
Jesse & Clifton - On the wreaths across america website, they have a couple of utube videos you might be interested in, since you have family at Arlington. What an honor for them!
Kris - It was a memorable day for him. But can you imagine the preparation that must have gone into this in Maine!?!?!
Donna, Every now and then Larry and I remind each other that we live next door to the Nation's Capitol and should participate in more of the amazing things going on. As a Vietnam veteran himself, it really meant a lot to participate in this project.
Katie, the wreathes will be there through January, I understand - you should try to come across the bridge to see them since you have relatives there. Might be a good living history lesson for your children. Besides, maybe we could squeeze out that lunch over here AND when I go to Delaware!
Great post. Thanks for sharing this with those of us that are not there. Arlington National Cemetery is one of our nation's sites that everyone should see at least once. It is a sight to behold..with a lot of meaning!
Faina, yes this amazing couple started this in 1990 (I believe), and they now reach out to Veterans cemeteries across the country with another 5000 wreaths. Check out their website because there could be a place near you where you could participate next year.
David and Kristin - 'sounds like you might have been there before. It's not always high on the list of to-do's for tourists to D.C., but it's worth making the time.
What a wonderful tradition and tribute to our veterans. I remember the first time I saw this on t.v, it is an awesome sight! Larry, thank you for being a part of this.
Margaret, thank you for doing this and sharing this. I actually had no idea it was done. I showed my husband who is a history teacher and WWII freak, he had no clue either.
Thanks for you time in doing this for all of us. It is so appreciated.
Larry and Margaret,
Thank you for sharing this beautiful post. I've heard about this once before, but completely forgot about it. Arlington is such a special place, it was a very moving experience for me.
I've also been to the Punchbowl (cemetary) several times in Honolulu, the burial ground of the Pacific. The last times was an Easter Sunrise Service three years ago. It too was a memorable experience. As the daughter of a WWII vet, I'm so proud of the men and women who gave so much for our freedom today. Thank you for your participation and sharing the spirit of the season of caring and joy.
Diane, There are ten locations in California where they do this, and five in Hawaii, but that's a long list - I'll just refer you to the website. I know what you mean about just being there is a moving experience, in itself.
Missy, There are four veterans cemeteries in Michigan that participate in this - Great Lakes National Cemetery - Holly, Fort Custer National Cemetery - Augusta Grand Rapids Veterans Soldiers Home Cemetery - Grand Rapids and Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens - Grand Rapids . It looks like they all within a two hour drive from Ann Arbor, so maybe your husband will want to go next year. They have this the same day and time at locations across the country.
Cynthia, We've seen it on TV in past years, as well, but always after it took place. This year, we got an email from our University Alumnae Association inviting us to participate.
Judy, I agree - Those pictures were attached to emails my husband received prior to this, and they were very inspirational. There are two utube videos on the Wreaths Across America website, too.
Margaret and Larry,
What a beautiful post. Arlington Cemetary is Very special to me.
My Family has 8 grave sites on "Pershing's Hill" in Arlington. So far, my Grandfather (a career Navy man) Father (Navy WWII), 2 uncles (Navy and Army WWII), my cousin (Marine killed in Vietnam) and an Aunt are buried there. It is such a beautiful place. I knew that small american flags are placed on the individual graves for Memorial Day and Veteran's Day, but I've never seen the christmas wreaths. You have inspired me to take a trip to Arlington before the Holidays are over!!
Debbie, thanks for commenting! I'm thinking we may go for a visit when my daughter is in town from Texas for the holidays, if she has time. The amazing thing about these wreaths is that they are made, donated and even delivered by one donor. Larry said they even come off the truck with bows already on them. I know what a project it was for my garden club to do wreaths for our small village green, so this undertaking just blows me away!
Nestor & Katerina - It is, and we don't do enough of it. 'Living so close to the Nation's Capitol is a wonderful opportunity that we sometimes take for granted.
Gary - It is, indeed. It took Larry longer to get there and back than it did to participate, but he felt it was well worth it.
Kathleen - We do, don't we? I was born in D.C. and have lived most of my life in this area, and never went to Arlington National Cemetery 'til we had French foreign exchange students staying with us. In fact, I saw a lot of national monuments then. I sometimes think that tourists from other areas have experienced more of my "home town" than I have.