Gold Star Mother honors her son with a graveside wreath

On a cold Saturday afternoon, Gold Star Mother Barbara Bilbrey went to her fallen hero son’s grave to place a wreath in his honor. Twenty-one-year-old Army Specialist Charles E. Bilbrey Jr. was killed on July 26, 2007, when a makeshift bomb exploded near his vehicle in Saqlawiyah, Iraq, in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He had volunteered for the mission that claimed his life.

The 2005 Owego Free Academy (OFA) graduate is the recipient of the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart. OFA Principal Ronald Pierce said that Specialist Bilbrey left a lasting legacy of patriotism, respect and leadership at the school. 

The Gold Star Bilbrey Family, Charles and Barbara, and sister Shannon and brother Patrick, also placed a wreath at the entrance to St. Patrick’s Cemetery in the Town of Tioga as part of Wreaths Across America in Tioga County and the Valley. 

Here is the meaning of Wreaths Across America Day from Gold Star Mother, Mrs. Barbara Bilbrey: 

“We recently marked the 12th year since we lost Charlie. I retired as an obstetric nurse at Lourdes Hospital in Binghamton. Now I’m with the Tioga County Health Department. 

“Even after 12 years Charlie is the first thing I think of in the morning and the last thought I have at night.  

“For anyone who has suffered a loss, the Christmas season can be very difficult to get through. 

“This brief time during the Christmas season gives us all a small moment to pause during the holiday season and reflect on the service members, past and present, who have served our country and the families who are passing the holiday season without them. It has been part of our holiday plans since Charlie has died.”

Parents Barbara and Charlie Bilbrey were expected to travel to Fort Stewart, Ga. to participate in the Warrior’s Walk on Saturday, Dec. 14. For the 12th year, families from across the nation pay their respects and grieve the loss of 3rd Infantry Division Soldiers including their son, Charles Bilbrey, at the Wreaths for Warriors Walk.

It’s an annual event that began in 2007 with the goal of placing a Christmas wreath at the memorial of each and every Fallen Soldier along the Warriors Walk in coordination with Wreaths Across America as a solemn memorial service. 

Barbara Bilbrey says the event is a reminder to Soldiers across the spectrum that their selflessness in defending our nation is never forgotten and always appreciated.