Wreaths Across America activities honor National Cemetery veterans
Harry Funk/the almanac
Kathy White of Canonsburg gets ready to lay a wreath at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies.
Harry Funk/the almanac
Callen McClanahan of McDonald Borough helps with the effort.
Harry Funk/Observer-Reporter
Will Messerly of Peters Township takes care of wreaths in the Columbarium area of the cemetery.
Volunteers unload boxes full of wreaths. (Photo by Mike Hicks)
Harry Funk/the almanac
Wreaths have been placed in the cemetery’s Columbarium area.
Harry Funk/Observer-Reporter
Logan McClanahan of McDonald Borough helps with the effort.
Harry Funk/Observer-Reporter
U.S. Marine Corps veteran Dave White of Canonsburg places a wreath on a grave.
Harry Funk/the almanac
From left, veterans Rick Zimmerman, U.S. Air Force, of Cecil Township and Kevin Schutz, Army, of McDonald participate in Wreaths Across America at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies.
Harry Funk/Observer-Reporter
Volunteers prepare to lay wreaths at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies.
Volunteers get ready to unload a truck full of wreaths at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies. (Photo by Mike Hicks)
Harry Funk/Observer-Reporter
Volunteers are ready with their wreaths.
Harry Funk/Observer-Reporter
Wreaths adorn National Cemetery of the Alleghenies graves.
Courtesy of Mike Hicks
A flag flies above the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies.
One of the purposes of the Marine Corps League veterans organization is to hold sacred the memory and the history of men and women who have given their lives to their nation.
As such, the league’s Washington County Detachment 1138 regularly participates in Wreaths Across America activities at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies, taking donations to purchase decorative memorial arrangements placed at veterans’ graves.
“We started with the goal of 300 wreaths, and now we’re well over 1,200,” Kathy White of Canonsburg, who leads the detachment’s fundraising efforts on behalf of the special occasion, said. “So in six years, we’ve quadrupled.”
She and her husband, Dave, were among the volunteers who arrived at the Cecil Township cemetery shortly after daybreak to participate in National Wreaths Across America Day, observed this year on Dec. 19.
“You may think philanthropy and volunteerism is a little dead. But when you come up here to this National Cemetery on any of the celebrated holidays, always, always 110%,” Dave White, a Marine Corps veteran, said. “This is where people come together. It’s just incredible.”
Volunteers started laying wreaths on Dec. 16, which turned out to be the day of a blizzard, with limited numbers of participants during specific periods because of precautions against the spread of COVID-19. The cemetery requires the wearing of masks.
“Everybody has been understanding, with the COVID,” Edward Hajduk, cemetery director, said. “Granted, Wednesday night we had the snowstorm come through here, so we only had about 50 or 60 people show up. But Thursday night and last night, we had hundreds of people come out here.”
By the time volunteers had finished taking care of all the graves, plus the columbarium area for veterans who have been cremated, 14,000-plus wreaths were in place.
“We have enough for everybody here at the National Cemetery,” Hajduk said, “plus we have extras that are available for future interments, up until Jan. 20.”
Started on a relatively modest scale in 1992 by Morrill Worcester, owner of Worcester Wreath Co, of Harrington, Maine, Wreaths Across America has grown to incorporate more than 2,100 cemeteries in all 50 U.S. states, plus locations overseas.
“Arlington National Cemetery gets a quarter of a million wreaths, which is unbelievable,” Scott Township resident Mike Hicks, who served as the local Wreaths Across America coordinator for the second year, said.
He reported that donations have been generous, even amid the pandemic that has persisted through most of 2020.
“We raised 17 percent over our goal. That carries over to next year, which helps out a lot,” he said. “I can’t thank the people of southwestern Pennsylvania enough for donating their time and donating their money for our organization.”
For more information, visit www.wreathsacrossamerica.org.