Wreaths were laid at veteran graves. In the top row, from left, are gates at the Ransom Mausoleum, Ira Ransom plaque – Indian Wars; and in the bottom row, from left, are the decorated graves of Amos Mead, Revolutionary War – James Witherell, War 1812 – Charles L. Watson, Spanish America War. (Photos by Chet and Anita Harding)
There is something special about a wreath, a circle with no end and made from living evergreens with the sweet fragrance of balsam. The act of placing the wreath, straightening the red bow, and taking a moment of silence is a living tribute to those who put it all on the line.
The Mission of Wreaths Across America during the holiday is to REMEMBER our fallen heroes, HONOR those who served or are serving and TEACH our children that we are able to do so, in peace, because of the many sacrifices made by our military men and women.
Families will place wreaths on the graves of four Modern Warfare Fallen Heroes.
First and only casualty of the Afghanistan War is Sgt. Justin Richard Rogers of Barton. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
First Iraq casualty Navy PO3rd Class Nicholas Wilson remembered at his memorial in Newark Valley.
Army Pfc. Nathan Fairlie in Candor’s Maple Grove Cemetery.
Gold Star Mother Barbara Bilbrey with her family decorated the grave of her son,
Army Specialist Charles Bilbrey Jr., at St. Patrick’s Cemetery.
Unofficially Tioga County’s first Vietnam casualty was M/Sgt. Herman Eugene Miller, killed April 13, 1967, in Khanh Hoa, Vietnam.
A Korea Casualty file starting in 1950 is being reviewed for Fallen Heroes from Tioga County.
First WWII Casualty from Tioga County and Owego was Navy Seaman Delmar Dale Sibley aboard the Battleship U.S.S. Arizona since Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941.
Veterans from the Tioga County Marine Corps League, Veterans of Modern Warfare of Afghanistan and Iraq, Chapter 480 Vietnam Veterans of America, Tioga Post 401 American Legion and Ladies and Sons Auxiliaries and Glenn A. Warner Post 1371 Veterans of Foreign Wars and Men’s and Ladies Auxiliaries paused for a minute of silence at noon on Saturday at the Tioga County Veterans Memorial in the Courthouse Square.
They joined Gold Star Mothers and Families, veterans and patriotic citizens and placed wreaths at the Tioga County Veterans Memorial remembering Tioga County’s 172 Fallen Heroes from Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam, Korea, World War II, World War I and thousands of Tioga County veterans who served and are serving this great nation’s armed forces. Also remembered were Prisoners of War and Missing in Action especially those from Tioga County during the early Korean War days.
Bonnie Baker Duff, president of the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War Tent 2, laid an evergreen wreath at the Tioga County Civil War Union Memorial in the Courthouse Square. Earlier, an evergreen wreath was laid at the 80-grave Civil War Section in Historic Evergreen Cemetery. A private citizen placed a wreath on a stand at a Civil War gravesite.
The Rev. G. Terry Steenburg, coordinator and facilitator of the Church of Greater Owego, blessed the wreaths and offered the invocation and benediction.
The Honor Guard of the Glenn A. Warner Post 1371, Veterans of Foreign Wars, posted the colors. They especially remembered long time Honor Guard comrade and Korean War veteran Joe Ceurter of Berkshire who died last month. Joe is Past Commander of Post 1371, New York State Veteran of the Year, recipient of five Purple Hearts, two Silver Star Medals and two Bronze Star Medals, and is buried in Elmira National Cemetery.
Veterans from the Candor, Nichols and Waverly American Legions and Waverly and Spencer Van Etten VFW Posts and their Men’s, Women and Sons Auxiliaries were active throughout Tioga County. They laid wreaths at community war memorials and veteran graves.
In Waverly, Friends of Waverly Cemetery Preservation with President Ron Keene as well as village trustees and Mayor Dan Leary participated with veterans in ceremonies at the eight war memorials and four cemeteries.
The Valley Honor Guard placed wreaths and used a rifle volley and taps at Glenwood, Factoryville/East Waverly, the Major Russell Kline War Memorial, St. James and Forest Home Cemeteries, the War Memorial at Muldoon Park and the Tank Memorial by the Waverly by the VFW on Broad Street. Waverly church bells rang at noon from St. James, First Presbyterian, Methodist and First Baptist.
Here are examples of how some residents participated.
In Windham, wreath laying was conducted by Sandra Lee Spaeth of Rome, Pa., at Windham Valley Home Cemetery, Windham Summit Bible Cemetery and Osboune Hill Cemetery. She also encouraged her friends in nearby Warren Center and Little Meadows to do the same in their cemeteries.
Wreaths from Marnie Schrader and the Tioga County Seventh Day Adventist Church of Catatonk graced veteran graves at Broadway Cemetery on Day Hollow Road in the Town of Owego. Special remembrance paid to WWII Navy Fighter Pilot Charles McHenry who was killed in action over Okinawa. His grandparents the Frank McHenry’s were from Owego.
In Candor, the leader of the Veterans of Modern Warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan Danielle Ingram placed handmade wreaths at the Civil War graves in Maple Grove Cemetery. This year she and Desert Storm veteran Bill Reynolds assisted by Iraq veteran Charlie Ellis will place service branch wreaths and illuminate them at the entrance to Maple Grove Cemetery on Rt. 96, Candor, and Nichols Cemetery on River Road, Nichols. Brian Roberts of the Candor American Legion says he has a wreath display honoring veterans on his red barn on Spencer Road.
In Apalachin, Riverside Cemetery Trustee JoAnn Walters is encouraging the community to place wreaths on veteran graves in all Apalachin and Little Meadows cemeteries.
In the Town of Tioga, for the past 61 years regardless of weather, ‘The Flats Gang’ on Christmas Day places a new American flag by a family evergreen wreath to remember Staff Sergeant Mario “Bucket” Panetti, killed on Christmas Day 1943 when his B-17 crashed in England.
In Berkshire, Pearl Harbor Survivor Army Sergeant Richard Hopkins – recipient of the Bronze Star Medal on Guadalcanal – received a wreath on the 74th anniversary of the Dec. 7 surprise attack.
Gold Star Mother Elizabeth Faucett now lives in Ashland, Va., near Richmond and asked to have a wreath placed on the grave of her Fallen Hero Son Army Pfc. Gary Lee Faucett of Apalachin, killed in action April 1, 1967 on a search and destroy mission at Tay Ninh Providence, Vietnam, and on the grave of her husband and Gold Star Father Ernie Faucett.
Organizers thank all participants in the 2015 Wreaths Across America program in Tioga and Bradford and Northern Susquehanna Counties. More citizens say they will place wreaths on veteran graves before Christmas.
On Saturday at noon, thousands of wreaths were placed at Arlington National Cemetery and 1,000 participating cemeteries in the United States and 25 veteran cemeteries on foreign soil.
Said a local volunteer, “I can only image the heroic lives that are represented on some of those headstones. After the event I just stood in awe of the beauty that the Christmas wreaths brought to those thousands of straight lined headstones stretching as far as the eye could see.”
A special thank you to the Ladies Auxiliary of the Glenn A. Warner Post 1371 Veterans of Foreign Wars who used money from selling gas cards at Thursday night VFW Bingo to again help pay for wreaths honoring Fallen Heroes at the Tioga County Veterans Memorial.
Please report what you did for your community and recommendations for 2016 to Glenn A. Warner Post 1371 Veterans of Foreign Wars Memorial Chairman Jim Raftis by email to jraftis2@stny.rr.com or by calling (607) 687-4229.
Wreath Laying at Cemeteries
Check for a wreath at the following Tioga County area cemeteries.
Town of Owego: Arbor Glade, Broadway, Campville, Evergreen, Flemingville, Gaskill Corners, Presbyterian Churchyard, Red Brush – Arbor Glade, Riverside in Apalachin, Searlestown, South Apalachin, South Owego, Tracy, Waits and Whittemore Hill.
Town of Newark Valley: Bushnell’s Corner, East Newark Valley, Hope, Ketchumville, West Newark Valley, Churchyard/Pleasant Valley and Zimmer.
Town of Berkshire: Brown, East Berkshire, Evergreen-Berkshire, Jenksville, Old Methodist and Rawson Hollow.
Town of Richford: Highland, Holcombville and West Hill.
Town of Candor: Anderson Hill, Cass Hill, Chapel Hill, Cranes Corner, Evergreen Candor, Lower Fairfield/Honeypot, Maple Gove, North Candor, Park Settlement, Pleasant Valley, Smith Valley, Upper Fairfield, Weltonville, West Candor and Woodbridge.
Town of Nichols: Nichols Cemetery, Riverside-Lounsberry.
Town of Spencer: Baptist Corners, Evergreen-Spencer, Beaver Meadows.
Town of Tioga: Germany Hill, Light, Smithboro, St. Patrick’s, Tioga and Light Hill.
Town of Barton: Barton Center, Emory Chapel, Forest Home, Glenwood, Oak Hill, Prospect Hill, St. James, Talmadge Hill and Waverly Cemetery.
Cemeteries in South Waverly, Pa., Sayre, Athens, and elsewhere in Northern Bradford and Susquehanna Counties.
