I’ve known about Wreaths Across America for several years, but did not know how to participate. My family and I went to Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, FL to place wreaths on the graves of veterans for the first time in December 2021. We did this a second time yesterday, Saturday, December 17, 2022. It was a moving experience for me both times.
I never tell people that I am a former member of the military, claiming “veteran status” because for me, it was “play Army.” I enlisted in the Alabama National Guard in 1979, when I was a student at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, AL. I served my term during the calm after Vietnam, and left before they started activating Reservists for deployment to combat zones. I do not consider myself in the same category as those who served in combat zones, who served overseas deployments or who served on regular active duty. This is not to denigrate the service of anyone else, this is just my personal feeling. I feel that MY service and MY sacrifice was inconsequential compared to that of others.
But, back to the topic . . .
I have two teenaged sons and an immigrant wife. I am trying to teach and show them the importance of our Freedom, the history of our Nation, and what service in the military means to both of those ideas – why those who served deserve our thanks and our respect.
We took turns placing wreaths on graves, one at a time. At each grave, we followed a similar pattern. We spoke the name of the veteran, the rank and branch of service, the conflict when shown, the date of birth, the date of death. We finished with the following: “Thank you for your service to our Nation. Thank you for your service to me.” I wanted to impress in the minds of my family that the military service was to our Nation as a whole, but also extends to each of us individually. We did this in respect of their service, that their names and service are not forgotten.
My family has a limited military tradition. My father entered the Navy at age 17, and was on a ship heading towards Japan when WW2 ended. His younger brother served on the USS Sequoia, the President’s yacht, but died from leukemia before I was born. An uncle, a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne, died in the early months of the Korean War – also before I was born. There were others who served, on both sides of my family, both before and after me. Military service has never been front and center in our family, but has always been a shadow in the background of our lives.
Whenever I attend an event, like placing Christmas wreaths on the graves of veterans, looking at the rows and rows of identical grave markers, I cannot avoid remembering the opening scene of “Saving Private Ryan.” The aging Private Ryan, probably only a little older than I am now, brings his family to a cemetery at Normandy to pay respects to the Captain of the team that brought him out of combat in order to save one of several sons from the same family. Facing the Captain’s gravestone, he said that he hoped he had lived a life that was worthy of the sacrifice that the team had made in the search for his safety. A team of around 10 men was assembled and given the task to find the young paratrooper in the days immediately following the assault on the Normandy beaches. One by one, members of the team were killed by enemy forces, until only the Captain remained as the final death. Private Ryan REFUSED to leave his post, until he had completed his assigned Mission, which he barely accomplished. The Captain died helping with that Mission.
At Bushnell, there are approximately 180,000 interments. Some died in combat. Some served in WW2 and died during the past 10 years in their 90’s, probably having left the service permanently in 1945. All gave some. Some gave all. The grave markers equalize them. We can tell nothing of their individual service from the limited information given on the memorials.
Our Nation is unique in the world. While every nation has armed forces, the history of our Nation and our Armed Forces is unique. From 1775 until 1780, our CITIZENS, untrained farmers and shopkeepers, took up arms against the greatest economic and military power in the world – fighting against the tyranny of the British Monarchy. I believe that we were blessed by God in that victory because it was WE THE PEOPLE who made the choice to fight against tyranny (evil). In the years, decades, and centuries following that conflict, our military forces have served to defend the cause of freedom around the world many times. I believe that God rewards us for the choices we make, whether they are good or bad. We get the results that we seek, or we get the results that we allow to happen.
We, as citizens of a Nation that has been a Lighthouse of Freedom to the world, must never forget the sacrifice of those who fought to give us, and defend for us, that freedom. We, as a Nation, must maintain our position as a beacon of Truth and Freedom to the world. Without us, there is no other.
There were two things about the event at Bushnell that were particularly noteworthy to me. First, last year, I met employees of Sunstate Carriers, based in Tavares, FL, the County Seat of the county in which I reside. Last year, simply by chance, my family took wreaths from their truck to place on graves. I looked for them this year, but did not see them until I was right at the exit, leaving the cemetery grounds.
This year, I met with SEVERAL drivers and managers from Walmart. THEY have been working with Wreaths Across America for up to 20 years. I have ALWAYS been a fan of Walmart and its founder, Sam Walton. In spite of their faults and their current tending toward “wokeness,” I believe at its heart, Walmart is an “America First” company. This is a reminder that within Walmart (and probably other big corporations) there still remains a core of patriotic Americans that understand what our Nation truly is, and the sacrifices that made it what it has been – an example of the success of truth, freedom and government of the people, for the people and by the people.
We can NEVER forget that.
Wreaths Across America delivers wreaths at Christmas time to thousands of veterans’ graves across the country. This massive operation is possible through the monetary donations and volunteer efforts of thousands of people across the country. They need more donations. They need more volunteers.
My charge to you: DONATE. VOLUNTEER. Both actions show respect for the sacrifice of the veterans who are no longer with us. Both actions help YOU to better appreciate those who have served. Both actions will give you the incentive to share this message with others.