Since 1992, the Worcester Wreath Company of Harrington, Maine, has donated and placed thousands of Christmas wreaths on tombstones at the Arlington National Ceremony.
Morrill Worcester, owner of the holiday decoration company, drives a tractor trailer full of wreaths every December all the way down to northern Virginia, where volunteers assist him in laying the wreaths. The cemetery itself is massive, but its director selects a location each year for the 5,000 wreaths. The goal is to cover all the areas of the park over a number of years.
In 2006, Worcestor’s yearly gesture expanded into a larger scale project called Wreaths Across America — an effort to place memorial wreaths at hundreds of state and national cemeteries across the country.
Orthodox. Faithful. Free.
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This year’s wreath laying ceremony in Arlington will take place on December 12th. If you’re in the area and interested in participating, there’s a contact name and phone number listed here. Those who can’t attend are invited to pause for a moment of silence at noon to remember the men and women who’ve sacrificed their lives for this nation.
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