Today, the girls and I traveled to the Connecticut State Veteran's Cemetery to meet up with my parents and brother and sister to attend the Wreaths Across America wreath laying event being held there. We decided that since we'd all be together that we'd also celebrate Christmas too. A perfect blend of service and family time.
I had first heard about Wreaths Across America after the convoy had passed through the area on the way to Arlington National Cemetery. A quick Google search lead me to the Wreaths Across America webpage and the notion that you could sponsor wreaths to be placed at veterans graves at Arlington or at other cemeteries around the country. As soon as I read that I knew exactly what we'd be doing for my father and brother for Christmas- wreaths sponsored in their names. A little more floating around the WAA website and I learned that they had something called Patriot Pairs. Choosing this option meant that a wreath would be placed on a veteran's grave AND one would be sent to the person who it was sponsored on behalf of. Done! Two Patriot Pairs were ordered (one Army, one Navy) and sent to my father and brother earlier this month.
So, it was because of this that we gathered together (along with a few hundred other people in Connecticut) to participate in this incredible event. It was a beautiful though cold day, and truthfully the speech portion of the afternoon went on much longer than one would have liked given the very cold temperature we were blessed with outside. We were thrilled to know that enough wreaths had been sponsored for one to be placed at each grave in the cemetery (a total of 9,200 wreaths).
Slowly, people began making their way over to the various sections of the cemetery and the piles of wreaths that were ready to be brought to their new homes. Before each wreath was laid, the person's name and rank were read aloud. It was incredible to hear names spoken as we passed by to get or place more wreaths, and it was equally as moving to watch how quickly the cemetery transformed from what it looked like when we first arrived to what you see in the pictures above. This was truly a day we shall never forget. xo
I had first heard about Wreaths Across America after the convoy had passed through the area on the way to Arlington National Cemetery. A quick Google search lead me to the Wreaths Across America webpage and the notion that you could sponsor wreaths to be placed at veterans graves at Arlington or at other cemeteries around the country. As soon as I read that I knew exactly what we'd be doing for my father and brother for Christmas- wreaths sponsored in their names. A little more floating around the WAA website and I learned that they had something called Patriot Pairs. Choosing this option meant that a wreath would be placed on a veteran's grave AND one would be sent to the person who it was sponsored on behalf of. Done! Two Patriot Pairs were ordered (one Army, one Navy) and sent to my father and brother earlier this month.
So, it was because of this that we gathered together (along with a few hundred other people in Connecticut) to participate in this incredible event. It was a beautiful though cold day, and truthfully the speech portion of the afternoon went on much longer than one would have liked given the very cold temperature we were blessed with outside. We were thrilled to know that enough wreaths had been sponsored for one to be placed at each grave in the cemetery (a total of 9,200 wreaths).
Slowly, people began making their way over to the various sections of the cemetery and the piles of wreaths that were ready to be brought to their new homes. Before each wreath was laid, the person's name and rank were read aloud. It was incredible to hear names spoken as we passed by to get or place more wreaths, and it was equally as moving to watch how quickly the cemetery transformed from what it looked like when we first arrived to what you see in the pictures above. This was truly a day we shall never forget. xo
This is really wonderful. My two uncles are buried at the veterans cemetery in Saratoga, NY, and we were recently commenting how beautiful it was to see all of the wreaths on every grave. Now we know how they got there! We will definitely look into doing this sort of thing ourselves next year!
ReplyDeleteOh, Patricia, you would love it! Such an incredible day and such a wonderful group who organizes this very moving event! It really is amazing to watch the cemetery transform from start to finish! We'll definitely be participating for years to come! xo
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