Laying wreaths for those who laid lives
Local groups and individuals came together on Saturday to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
Members of the St. Marys American Legion Post 323 and Chained Eagles of Ohio joined forces along with Freedom’s Colors Chairman Ralph Reynolds as part of the Wreaths Across America program.
The Post and the Chained Eagles began their day at Memorial Park where Post 323 Public Relations Chairman John McJunkin led the ceremony and members of the Chained Eagles laid the wreaths in front of the “We Honor Those Who Served” memorial.
It is the first time these groups have par
ticipated in Wreaths Across America. Other stops included St. Thomas Cemetery in Glynwood, Gethsemane Cemetery and Elm Grove Cemetery in St. Marys.
“I hope the program
will continue and the ceremony lasts for years and years,” McJunkin said. “Any day that we honor and thank our veterans is a great day.”
Reynolds traveled to five counties on Saturday to lay 27 wreaths
in Auglaize, Logan, Allen, Mercer and Hardin counties, but all of the 27 soldiers’ graves or markers he visited, minus one, are from Auglaize County.
Reynolds and his wife started at noon in
Wapakoneta and estimated laying wreaths would take six to seven hours. The two covered about 160 miles and 19 cemeteries to honor veterans killed during the Korean, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.
“Twenty years ago we had a group like but even with a group like this, you can’t get it all done,” Reynolds said. “People have to stop for gas or get something to eat so you just can’t get it done in a day.
“This is not an event. If you want to travel with me, that’s fine, let’s go. We can’t stop. We have a mission.”
The Wreaths Across America ceremonies started as a program to help families who will
be missing a military member during the holiday season.
The program has grown as it aims to remember, honor and teach students the need for the country’s veterans by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies at more than 2,100 locations nationally, at sea and abroad.
Set to leave for Minster, Reynolds was turning his attention to World War II veterans, adding that there have been a total of 77 Auglaize County natives killed in action during WWII.
“That’s our mission but we can’t do them all,” Reynolds said. “But if all of the counties did this, think of all of the veterans that would be honored.”
Reynolds said he receives wreaths from Wreaths Across America and local businesses and individuals will sponsor a wreath for him to place. He said he has been laying wreaths for 21 years.
“It is an honor to be doing this,” he added.
The program started under Morrill Worcester, the owner of Worcester Wreath Co. of Harrington, Maine.
According to WreathsAcrossAmerica.org, in 1992, Worcester Wreath found themselves with a surplus of wreaths nearing the end of the holiday season. With the aid of Maine Senator Olympia Snowe, arrangements were made for the wreaths to be placed at Arlington in one of the older sections of the cemetery that had been receiving fewer visitors with each passing year.
As plans were under
way, individuals and organizations stepped up to help.
The annual tribute went on quietly for several years, until 2005, when a photo of the stones at Arlington, adorned with wreaths and covered in snow, circulated the internet.
Suddenly, the project received national attention as thousands of requests poured in from all over the country.
Unable to donate thousands of wreaths to each state, Worcester began sending seven wreaths to every state, one for each branch of the military, and POW/ MIAs, according to the organization.
Simultaneous wreath-laying ceremonies were held at more than 150 locations around the country in 2006 with the help of the Civil Air Patrol and other civic organizations.
And the program has continued to grow from there.
In 2008, more than 300 locations held wreath-laying ceremo
nies in every state, Puerto Rico and 24 overseas cemeteries.
More than 100,000 wreaths were placed on veterans’ graves as more than 60,000 volunteers participated.
And that year, Dec. 13, 2008, was unanimously voted by the US Congress as “Wreaths Across America Day,” according to WAA.
In 2014, Wreaths Across America and its national network of volunteers laid more
than 700,000 memorial wreaths at 1,000 locations in the United States and beyond with help from 2,047 sponsorship groups, corporate contributions and donations of trucking, shipping and thousands of helping hands.
The goal of covering Arlington National Cemetery was met in 2014 with the placement of 226,525 wreaths.
WAA is held on the second or third Saturday of December.