Wreaths to honor and remember veterans

The Mission of Wreaths Across America is to REMEMBER our fallen U.S. veterans, HONOR those who serve including their families who sacrifice, and TEACH your children the value of freedoms enjoyed each day. The National theme for 2017 is “I’m an American. Yes, I am.” 

This mission is pursued with nationwide wreath laying events at Arlington National Cemetery, 1,200 national and state cemeteries, at sea 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.” 

Every volunteer who places a wreath on a veteran grave is encouraged to say that veteran’s name aloud and take a moment to thank them for their service to our country. It’s a small act that goes a long way toward keeping the memory of our veterans alive. 

Executive Director Karen Worcester of Wreaths Across America states, “We are not here to decorate graves. We’re here to remember not their deaths, but their lives.” 

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 look 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, 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.” 

In Owego on National Wreaths Across America Day, Dec. 16 at noon, 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 the 18 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. Gold Star Families will place the wreaths. Veterans from the Tioga Post 401 American Legion and Auxiliaries, Veterans of Modern Warfare of Bosnia, Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan, Vietnam Veterans of America and VFW Post 1371 and Auxiliary will participate.   

Scoutmaster Matt Lewis’ Troop 60 Boy Scouts are preparing a Past Due Tribute Remembrance Wreath display to honor Tioga County’s 18 Fallen Heroes buried in overseas cemeteries. 

Christmas wreaths at the Tioga County Veterans and Tioga County Civil War Memorials for the second year were donated by Price Chopper thanks to Manager Rhonda Wright and Floral Designer Deb Evans. 

Troop 60 Scouts want to make sure every Fallen Hero buried locally has a remembrance wreath for Christmas. What’s needed now is the exact location of the veteran headstone in the cemetery for wreath placement.  

Adjutant Ben Gardner of the 137th Volunteer Infantry and Karen Messersmith, president of Tent 2 of the Daughters of Civil War veterans, will lay wreaths at the Tioga County Civil War Union Memorial. Remembered will be Newark Valley Civil War Historian Jerry Marsh who died this past month. The Vietnam veteran was very active in the wreath program.   

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, Spencer Van Etten, Nichols and Waverly will receive wreaths from the VFW and American Legion and their Post Auxiliaries. 

Berkshire Evergreen Cemetery President Maurice Stoughton placed wreaths at Evergreen Cemetery and Brown Road Cemetery. Stoughton stated, “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 and American Legion 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 Friends of Waverly Cemetery, Waverly VFW and American Legion Post Commanders and volunteers will assist with wreath placement. The VFW Color Guard will read a prayer and render 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 including Windham and Little Meadows. JoAnn Walter reports Riverside Cemetery in Apalachin is participating and welcomes wreaths for any loved one at Riverside.

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, especially their fallen heroes. 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 wreaths honoring 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 generations 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.” Over there is our first Iraq Fallen Hero Army Pfc. Oliver Brown. 

“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,” the widow added.  

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 Pennysaver, it sparked my interest. I thought it would be a good community project for our small country church, Tioga Seventh-Day Adventist.” 

She chose the Broadway Cemetery because it is in her neighborhood and she has many ancestors resting there. In fact, the land for the cemetery was donated to the neighborhood by her great, great, great, great grandfather, Nathaniel Spencer, in the late 1820’s to 1830’s. 

She then added, “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.”

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 national program events.