Serious Content Alert. One of the reasons that I went to Maine last week was because I wanted to make arrangements for special care for the Kimball family plots in the small cemetery where generations of Kimballs were laid to rest. While our son and his wife in general are able to go by once a year, that doesn’t always hold true and I wanted to have something in place for those times when they couldn’t take care of it. In the course of making these arrangements, there was a discussion about a gentleman (and perhaps also his wife) who take it up on themselves each year to put out the small American flags at the site of each veteran. This is a practice in many places and it brought to mind what a touching gesture it is for people who are willing to devote their effort and time.
In fact, there is a national organization, Wreaths Across America, (http://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org) that was established in such a way. Larger in scope than the placement of flags, they provide wreaths and this is from their website:
“Our mission, Remember, Honor, Teach, is carried out in part by coordinating wreath laying ceremonies a specified Saturday in December at Arlington, as well as veterans’ cemeteries and other locations in all 50 states and beyond. We also organize a week of events including international veteran’s tributes, ceremonies at State Houses and a week-long “Veteran’s Parade” between Maine and Virginia where we stop along the way to spread our message about the importance of remembering our fallen heroes, honoring those who serve, and teaching our children about the sacrifices made by veterans and their families to preserve our freedoms.
This week of events is made possible by thousands of volunteers who organize local ceremonies, raise funds to sponsor wreaths, and participate in the events. We receive no government funding. The cost of our programs is paid by individual wreaths sponsors, corporate donorsand volunteer truckers.
We also coordinate veteran services and recognition through a variety of programs, and provide schools with teaching aides for projects throughout the year.”
In our area, the Military Motorcycle Club has taken this on and there is a moving ceremony that they conduct with the American Legion Post #43 on the designated Saturday in December (usually the first or second Saturday) They accept donations throughout the year, so if this happens to be something that you are interested in, you can go onto the website and learn more.
