Birthday wish comes true with Wreaths Across America
As winter tightens its grasp and the days become shorter, the crisp cold air evokes a sense of stillness. The natural world is preparing for rest and restoration. And nothing brings an appreciation for warmth more than spending a little time visiting with the chill of winter.
One only has to step outside to easily understand why Valley Forge in December 1777 was so hard for General George Washington and his troops—many of which lacked proper attire and rations for the impending winter. Their struggle was intensified by a war that was not going well and the army was in retreat. Morale was low and the suffering great.
For veterans of war, the tale is one that is evergreen.
It is a story all too familiar to the many veterans laid to rest in the burial fields at St. James Episcopal Church. For some, they are all but forgotten to time. The only things marking their lives—a simple flag with a placard showing the period of their service.
But thanks to Maeve Vogan, of Worcester, there will also be a wreath of balsam boughs this year and someone to remember them and all they sacrificed.
“My husband, my dad, grandfathers and uncles were all in the military,” Vogan said. “It goes several generations back. I’ve been wanting to honor them for a while.”
This year she made time for those intentions with Wreaths Across America, an organization that coordinates wreath-laying ceremonies for veterans’ gravesites at cemeteries around the country.
The day designated for laying the wreaths this year was also Vogan’s birthday. She decided to invite her friends and family to help her celebrate all veterans on her birthday.
“People were asking me what I wanted for my birthday—what did I want to do? What did I need? The truth is I didn’t want anything. I have everything I need,” Vogan said. “I wanted to show my husband and daughter that we don’t always have to have a big celebration. That spending time together is enough.”
So Vogan contacted Wreaths Across America, who helped her get the event organized. Her husband, Frank Vogan, sponsored the wreaths. And Maeve invited her friends and family to St. James Episcopal Church on Germantown Pike in Collegeville, Saturday, Dec. 15, to place wreaths on the tombs of local veterans.
It was important to Vogan for young people to be involved as well.
“In my work with Girl Scouts and my personal life, it was always important to give back,” she said as she reminisced about serving food at a food bank with her grandmother. “I felt like it was an important lesson for me to give (to my daughter). When people have lost everything, there is someone there to help them. If you need help, they will be there to help you too.”
On the day of the wreathlaying ceremony, Maeve gathered the attendees in a circle for an opening ceremony.
“Right now, across the country at more than 1,100 memorial sites like this one we are gathered as one nation to Remember, Honor and Teach. We are all proud to be Americans that live in a free society made up of many people, from many walks of life. The freedoms we enjoy today have not come without a price,” read Vogan.
“Lying here before us and in cemeteries throughout this nation are men and women who gave their lives so that we can live in freedom and without fear. We can worship as we see fit. We can raise our children to believe as we do. We can travel from one end of this great nation to the other and not have to ask permission to go. We are free to vote for whomever we feel should be in government office, with no explanation needed. We have the right to succeed and we have the right to fail at whatever endeavor we wish to pursue.”
Vogan then took time to recognize and thank the veterans and their family members present. She also made sure to mention the men and women currently serving who are continuing to sacrifice today.
“There are many men and women serving today in all branches of the military, here at home and in
places far away that most of us have never heard of,” she said.
Vogan then explained how to place the wreaths.
“We encourage every volunteer here today who places a wreath on a veteran’s grave 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.”
Before the laying of the wreaths, Barbara Bateman, the church’s historian, tells the attendees that the cemetery contains a mound of approximately 150 unknown revolutionary soldiers who were laid to rest there following Washington’s defeat at the Battle of Germantown, which occurred Oct. 4, 1777. A defeat they would have a carried with them to Valley Forge.
Bateman adds that documented in the church history is a visit by the first president to his old friend Capt. Vachel Howard, a Calvary officer from the Maryland Light Dragoons, who
was laid to rest in 1778.
Other notable veterans include a Civil War Congressional Medal of Honor recipient John Vanderslice; Sgt. Frederick Toal, who died in service during World War II and is buried next to his parents; and a female World War II veteran, Katherine Jackson.
Though laying the wreaths was a gift of remembrance to the veterans it was a reward in and of itself for those who participated.
Emma Ciccotosto, Vogan’s daughter who is a high school senior at the Academy of Notre Dame, said she didn’t really know anything about Wreaths Across America until her mom decided to do this.
“(My mom) is always thinking of other people and it was a great way to spend her birthday. I felt blessed to be in such a historical area and felt protected. I enjoyed being able to give back and respect them,” said Ciccotosto.
“This is sacred ground as old as it is. It’s a peaceful place. It has a story to tell—the conflicts we’ve been through as a country. It feels great to honor their service and to respect the loss of life. We go on with our lives without thinking that people are still giving,” Bateman reflected on the day’s experience. “It’s important to remember and Maeve did this. She spearheaded this whole thing. It was an honor to do this.
Patti Mack, a longtime friend of Vogan, said the experience was “incredible.”
“We have military in our family and this was an amazing gift to share with her.”
Mack talked about how moving it was for her daughters and her to place the wreaths at the tombstones and to say each veteran’s name.
“This is something we don’t get to experience all the time,” Mack said. “When we got home, I had to call Maeve and tell her my daughter said that it was the best day ever. She said she loved meeting all those who served. That’s what she said—that she met them. It was so special.”
“More people should know about this,” she said. “It is so worthwhile to appreciate their service and the citizens, the people of this country across time and all walks of life.”
A sentiment that resonated with her husband, Frank Vogan, an Army veteran and former air defense artillery officer, said “I think the biggest impact is reminding people that there are many who serve in various ways, and often they are invisible.”
“…These soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines aren’t seen or thought about as much, where even knowing that events like Wreaths Across America are happening may make it a bit easier on their hardship tours. I also think that while it may seem simple, remembering that what we take for granted shouldn’t be— it’s a continual struggle to maintain our freedoms,” he added.
Mack sees parallels with the service project and her good friend Maeve.
“These people sacrificed so much. It’s not ironic that Maeve would do this because that’s her too.”
Frank Vogan agrees, “She’s a better person than I. She has such great compassion and wants to do the best she can for others. She puts tremendous energy into all of her volunteer activities, and I think she makes each of us a bit better for it.”