Origins of the Wreaths Across America Program
the Arlington wreath Project
Worcester wreath company and its involvement with the Arlington project was inspired when at the early age of 12 years old, as a Bangor daily news paperboy, morrill Worcester won a trip to the nations' capitol. it was a trip he would never forget and Arlington cemetery made an indelible impression. in later life, he recognized that his success as a businessman was in large part , due to the values of this nation and the veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country,
in 1992, Worcester wreath company of Harrington, main found themselves with an excess of wreaths nearing the end of the holiday season. seeing an opportunity to make a boyhood dream come a reality, efforts to do something special with those wreaths began in earnest. with the help of main senator Olympia snowe and the Maine state society of dc, arrangements were made for the wreaths to be placed at Arlington. again an impression was made and he vowed to bring the wreaths every year.
in 2006, in response to thousands of e-mails and letters, Worcester wreath expanded its wreath donations nationwide. with the help of the civil air patrol and many others, ceremonies were held simultaneously at 230 locations. from the snow banks of Alaska to the sands of Iraq our nations heroes were honored. from here wreaths across America was born.
by early 2007, with so many requests for cemetery wreaths, the Worcester's reached out to the community and the nonprofit group "Wreaths Across America" was formed. Mr. Worcester doubled his yearly pledge to Arlington to 10,000 wreaths and continued his tradition of sending 2,500 to the main veterans cemetery along with providing wreaths for the veteran's graves in the local communities of the small county he grew up in. Again in 2010 ceremonial wreaths for each branch of the military will be sent to all of the participating state and national cemeteries along with many local town cemeteries and monuments. wreaths will also be provided for 24 offshore cemeteries including Normandy beach and a large veteran's commemorative wreath will be sent to each state's house foe the ceremony on Monday prior to the WAA Saturday event.
Inspired by his commitment wreaths across America has turned it attention to answering the requests of many to emulate the Arlington project at their state veteran's cemeteries. by offering sponsorship to the public, wreaths across America hopes that one day every veteran's resting place will be adorned with a wreath. we need your help to make this a realty.
We cannot do this without your support. Your wreath sponsorship will place a wreath on a veteran's grave. We invite you to participate in the Wreaths across America at the National Cemetery Annex located in the back of the grounds at the VA in Salisbury NC.
"No one should pass an American in uniform without saying, "Thank you, we are grateful". Always mindful that they are prepared to risk all of their dreams so that all of us can reach ours
~ former Secretary of Defense William Cohen