By Lulu

Glen, the owner of Smiles Night Club in Palm Coast, took the time to lay wreaths at Arlington one year and I have wanted to do that since he shared his experience. This year while visiting The Garage in Somerset, Massachusetts, our friend Steve Matton invited us to spend Saturday attending a ceremony for Wreaths Across America and then to lay wreaths on veterans’ graves at a local cemetery. I was thrilled to be invited to join them. The event included a marching band, scout troops, a gun salute, taps, and what appeared to be men dressed as Minute Men. The story of how the yearly wreath tribute started, was a 12-year-old, Morrill Worcester won a trip as a paper boy for the Bangor Daily News. His trip to DC included a visit to Arlington which left a deep impression on the boy. In 1992 as the owner of Worcester Wreath Company, he had a large surplus of wreaths near the end of the holiday season, so with the help of a senator he was able to make arrangements to lay wreaths at an older section of Arlington. This annual tribute went on quietly for years until a photo of the wreaths went viral in 2005. In 2007 there was such interest for this tribute to go nationwide that Morrill formed Wreaths Across America. All across the nation at exactly the same time, wreaths are placed on veterans’ graves, and as you lay each wreath you are asked to say the name of the veteran aloud and take a moment to remember their service. It was a wonderful thing to participate in, certainly put the holidays in a different perspective. There are runs each year to offset the cost of this event, the mission of Wreaths Across America lies in 3 words: REMEMBER (those who have fallen), HONOR (those who serve), TEACH (your children the value of freedom). It was obvious those in Somerset were fulfilling the mission; as the children watched each branch of our military present a wreath, loudly recited The Pledge of Allegiance, and seemed genuinely interested in what was happening on this chilly winter morning. Thanks to a 12-year-old child who left DC a changed boy, who could not have possibly known how that day in Arlington would alter his life’s path, and how many would follow in his dedication to remember our military’s sacrifices!