Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Wreaths Across America celebrated in Romulus

Again this year, Romulus Memorial Cemetery will participate in National Wreaths Across America event set for noon, Dec. 14.
Annually, in December, ceremonies take place across the country to “remember, honor and teach” including the event at Arlington National Cemetery as well as at more than 1,600 additional locations across the country.

From the Revolutionary War to present day conflicts, veterans are devoted sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, sisters and brothers. They come from all backgrounds in life to place those lives on the line for our freedoms. There are millions of individual stories to tell, according to the mission statement of the group.
The ceremony includes the placement of a holiday wreath on the graves of all veterans as a tribute to their service to their country.
The tribute began in Bangor, Maine in 1991 when Morrill Worcester, owner of Worcester Wreath Company, found himself with a surplus of wreaths nearing the end of the holiday season. Remembering a boyhood trip he won to Washington, D.C. as a 12-year-old paperboy and the indelible impression Arlington National Cemetery made, he made arrangements through his senator, then Olympia Snowe, to have the wreaths placed on an older section of Arlington graves where few visitors were seen.
Other businesses joined the effort and volunteers from the American Legion and VFW posts began to decorate each wreath with traditional red, hand-tied bows. Ceremonies grew to include a special wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The tribute went on quietly for years until 2005 when a photo of the snow-covered wreaths circulated on the internet bringing national attention. Thousands of requests poured in from across the country for similar remembrances at national, state and local cemeteries.
Wreaths Across America continued to grow each year until it has now become a national event. Now, Wreaths Across America is a non-profit 501-(c)(3). Local individuals and businesses have until tomorrow to sponsor a wreath for a veteran at the Romulus Memorial Cemetery. Visit www.wreathsacrossamerica.org and choose “Sponsor a wreath with a local fundraising group” option and then search for Romulus VFW or MI0129P.
The public is invited to the Dec. 14 ceremony at Romulus Memorial Cemetery, 10101 Shook Road in Romulus. For more information, contact the Veterans Outreach Committee at (734_955-8964.