The Mission of Wreaths Across America is to REMEMBER the fallen, HONOR those who serve including their families who sacrifice, and TEACH our children the cost of freedoms we enjoy each day.
This mission is pursued with nation-wide wreath laying events at Arlington National Cemetery, 1,000 national and state cemeteries and overseas cemeteries amid the holiday season, and year-round educational outreach inviting all Americans to appreciate our freedoms and the cost at which they are delivered.
The 30th President of the United States, Calvin Coolidge, said, “The nation which forgets its defenders will soon be forgotten.”
Tioga and Northern Bradford and Susquehanna Counties and the Valley communities of Waverly, South Waverly, Sayre and Athens do not want to forget her veterans. As you drive by a cemetery this week, carefully looks for a wreath at the main entrance. If you do not see a wreath, here’s what you can do for veterans who fought for your freedom.
You take the initiative to find a way to get an evergreen wreath to the cemetery entrance within a day or so. You may buy the wreath, hand make the wreath, or ask a Christmas tree farm to make you a creative wreath.
Return to the cemetery, hang the wreath, and consider saying out loud to all the veterans resting inside, “Thank You all soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines for your service and sacrifice for our freedom.”
On Saturday, Dec. 17 at noon in Owego, and on National Wreaths Across America Day, evergreen wreaths with red, white and blue bows will be at the Tioga County Veterans Memorial to honor her 172 fallen heroes of Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam, Korea, World War I and World War II (including those buried in American National and Memorial Cemeteries overseas) and the Civil War at the Tioga County Union Memorial.
Rev. G. Terry Steenburg, now of the Central Baptist Church in Greene, will again say a prayer over the wreaths. Posting of the colors by the Glenn A. Warner Post 1371 Veterans of Foreign Wars Color Guard will take place, and Gold Star Families will place the wreaths; veterans from all eras will assist.
Adjutant Ben Gardner and his 137th Volunteer Infantry and Tent 2 of the Daughters of Civil War veterans will lay a wreath at the Tioga County Civil War Union Memorial. Newark Valley Civil War Historian Jerry Marsh will update his research writing of his next history book.
There will be a solemn tribute and a moment of remembrance to the courage and sacrifice of those who have guarded and preserved our nation’s freedoms throughout history.
Those who cannot attend the ceremony in person may participate by observing a moment of silence at the noon hour “to reflect on the sacrifices made and freely given by those who will not be home for the holidays.”
Veteran memorials in Candor, Van Etten Spencer, Nichols and Waverly will receive wreaths from the VFW and American Legion and their Post Auxiliaries.
Project Homecoming’s Chet and Anita Harding placed seven wreaths for Christmas in different Tioga County cemeteries.
Barton United Methodist – Civil War: Michael Riley and John Golden; Spencer Evergreen Cemetery: Stephen Ferris-Civil War and Frederick Mead-Spanish American War; Hope Cemetery – Samuel Perry – NY Vol – Civil War and Woodbridge – Catatonk two.
In the Berkshire Evergreen Cemetery President Maurice Stoughton will have wreaths placed at Evergreen Cemetery and Brown Road Cemetery. Stoughton said, “I did this on Wednesday for Pearl Harbor Day as Berkshire has a Pearl Harbor Survivor, Richard Hopkins.”
In Waverly, Friends of the Waverly Cemetery and the VFW placed wreaths at two veteran memorials – Muldoon Park War Memorial and VFW Post Memorial; and four cemeteries – Glenwood, Factoryville/East Waverly, Saint James and Forest Home.
President Ron Keene of the Friends of Waverly Cemetery, Waverly VFW Post Commander and volunteers will assist with wreath placement. The VFW Color Guard will read a prayer and rendered a salute to honor all deceased veterans.
Sayre VFW Post will lay wreaths at two cemeteries – Rest Cemetery in Sayre which houses internments back to the Civil War and the Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery. Tioga Point Cemetery has a wreath for veterans.
Reports are pending from other cemeteries throughout the three county area.
Church congregations and community members throughout Tioga and Northern Bradford and Susquehanna Counties and the Valley communities of Athens, Sayre, South Waverly and Waverly are asked to place evergreen wreaths on veteran headstones. Wreaths are placed on the headstones of veterans as a visible demonstration of the mission to Remember, Honor and Teach.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church of Catatonk adopted Broadway Cemetery and will lay 34 wreaths honoring all veterans buried in the Day Hollow Road cemetery. This patriotic act fulfilled the ultimate goal of Wreaths Across America that one day every veteran grave has a wreath at Christmas time.
Wreaths Across America now has several key educational resources to teach about the service and sacrifice of our veterans and active military. Church Youth Groups were asked to include the wreath program in their teaching curriculum this year.
Each of the new educational resources is designed to engage different school-age children with the living history that preserves our daily freedoms. Classroom resources include a Wreaths Across America storybook and activity pages, a downloadable middle school curriculum, brochure, and the Million Memories Project.
These educational materials are designed to engage with our younger generation so they will make the emotional connection about where and how our freedoms came at such great cost. It is important for us all to appreciate what we have. These history lessons from the heart will far surpass those from history books.
This past week a widow went to Tioga Point Cemetery in Athens to recognize her Vietnam era husband’s grave with a wreath. She stated, “I’m doing this from the heart.”
In the same cemetery is Iraq Fallen Hero Army Pfc. Oliver Brown. That same widow stated, “Young men and women signed that dotted line to make the ultimate sacrifice for us, and I’m thanking all of them for what they’ve done and recognizing their sacrifice.”
In her own words, Marnie Schrader of the Tioga County Seventh-Day Adventist Church describes her warm feelings about the Wreaths Across America Program for our local veterans.
Schrader stated, “When I read ‘Wreaths Across America’ in the Owego Pennysaver, it sparked my interest. I thought it would be a good community project for our small country church, Tioga Seventh-Day Adventist.”
She added, “I chose the Broadway Cemetery because it is in my neighborhood and I have many ancestors resting there. In fact, the land for the cemetery we believe was donated to the neighborhood by my great, great, great, great grandfather, Nathaniel Spencer, in the late 1820’s – 1830’s. With my love of history, I found it interesting to be able to recognize war veterans back to the American Revolution all the way to Iraqi Freedom! Some of my ancestors were early settlers of Owego, which gave me the opportunity to remember them with a wreath. So many veterans are forgotten. If you can’t decorate a whole cemetery, find a cemetery and an undecorated grave and place a wreath. You will feel honored. Since Our Lord and Savior gave His all, the least we could do is recognize those who gave their all for the freedoms we enjoy.”
Remember the local goals: To place a wreath at the main entrance to every cemetery in Tioga and Northern Bradford and Susquehanna Counties and the Valley communities of Waverly, South Waverly, Sayre and Athens and to place wreaths at as many veterans headstones as possible, and to teach our children the value of freedom.
You may contact Glenn A. Warner Post 1371 Veterans of Foreign Wars Memorial Day Chairman, Jim Raftis, by email to jraftis2@stny.rr.com with updates, activity reports, or to get more information about the local program. You can visit www.wreathsacrossamerica.org for the national program events.
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