By LOIS KINDLE
Memorial Day isn’t the only national event honoring the sacrifices of those who’ve served the rest of us in the U.S. military. Every year, a nonprofit organization called Wreaths Across America announces a day in December for its national wreath-laying ceremony to honor deceased veterans at more than 3,700 participating locations in every state and U.S. territory.
On Dec. 20, about 40 representatives of area military and veterans organizations and youth groups gathered at Ruskin Memorial Park to lay 216 donated live wreaths on the grave markers of more than 70% of the cemetery’s final resting sites for veterans buried there.
“This was our first year to lay wreaths, and we got off to a late start,” said Sun City Center resident Walt Cawein, lead organizer of the event. “We’re going to start early next year and hope to raise enough sponsorships and donations to cover all of the veterans’ graves.”
The plan originally was to participate in the national Wreaths Across America event on Dec. 16, but stormy weather precluded that. Nevertheless, the local wreath laying was both solemn and lovely, as dozens of folks walked the cemetery placing wreaths on grave markers with U.S. Flags planted beside them. They then read the name of the veteran aloud and, during a moment of silence, saluted.
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Sue Kirkpatrick, a volunteer from Sun City Center, prepares to lay a wreath on the grave site of Army Sgt. Lawrence Dee Wilder, who served the country during World War II.
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Sandra Vazquez, of Lithia, brought her children, ages 12, 8 and 5, to the local Wreaths Across America event Dec. 20 because she wanted to teach them about patriotism she feels is lost in their generation. Born in Columbia, Vazquez came to America as a teenager and is now an American citizen. “This country opened its doors for me, so I want to give back by teaching my kids to love this country,” she said.
Cawein spoke during a brief opening ceremony that included the Pledge of Allegiance and the singing of the National Anthem, a cappella, by April Kerbow.
Cawein reminded everyone about the Wreaths Across America mission: Remember the fallen. Honor those who serve. Teach the next generation the value of freedom.
Quoting former President Ronald Reagan, he said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”
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Some of the dozens of folks who volunteered Dec. 20 for the local Wreaths Across America event honoring deceased veterans are shown here in various stages of wreath laying at the Ruskin Memorial Park cemetery.
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Representing Bob’s Vets, Navy veteran Mike Linnan lays a wreath at the grave site of Army Air Corps veteran Richard Ellis Spence during a local Wreaths Across America event Dec. 20 at the Ruskin Memorial Park cemetery.
Cawein recognized the following groups for their support of the event: Bob’s Vets, American Legion and Military Officers of America; Military Order of the World Wars, Disabled American Veterans, Daughters of the American Revolution and Sons of the American Revolution.
And Civil Air Patrol Clearwater Composite Squadron Cadet 1st Lt. John Humphreys recognized the following youth organizations for their support: the BSA Timuqua District, 4-H Hillsborough County, Civil Air Patrol Clearwater Composite Squadron, BSA Trailblazers and Raise the Bar 4-H Club.
The event ended with playing of “Taps.”
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Cadet 1st Lt. John Humphreys, 15, left, and Cadet Airman Brennan Hawthorne, 13, of the Civil Air Patrol Clearwater Composite Squadron, salute the gravesite of Lindsey J. Perry, a veteran who served in the Army during World War I.
More about Wreaths Across America
Wreaths Across America was started as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in 2007, 15 years after the first wreaths (5,000 of them) were donated by Maine businessman Morrill Worcester and the Worcester Wreath Company to the Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.
In 2022, groups across the nation placed more than 2.7 million wreaths, and the number is still growing.
Wreaths Across America isn’t affiliated with any religion or political party. Its mission is to remember and honor every fallen military service member during the holiday season, regardless of anything happening in the country or overseas.
Since 2008, Congress proclaims a Saturday in December as National Wreaths Across America Day.
For more information or to support next year’s event by volunteering or making a donation for the purchase of wreaths, visit https://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/. You can also contact Cawein via email at walt.cawein@gmail.com/.