Next Saturday, December 12th, I will have the honor of delivering a load of Christmas wreaths all the way from Columbia Falls, Maine to the Arlington National Cemetery in support of Wreaths Across America (WAA). I will be delivering one of over 60 truck loads of wreaths to Arlington alone.

This is how it began:  In 1992, Worcester Wreath Company found themselves with a surplus of wreaths nearing the end of the holiday season. Remembering a childhood trip to Arlington, Mr. Morrill Worcester realized he had an opportunity to honor our country’s Veterans. With the help of Maine Senator Olympia Snowe, arrangements were made for the wreaths to be placed at Arlington in one of the older sections of the cemetery, a section which had been receiving fewer visitors with each passing year.

The annual tribute went on quietly for several years, until 2005, when a photo of the stones at Arlington, adorned with wreaths and covered in snow, circulated around the internet. Suddenly, the project received national attention. Thousands of requests poured in from all over the country from people wanting to help with Arlington, to emulate the Arlington project at their National and State cemeteries, or to simply share their stories and thank Morrill Worcester for honoring our nation’s heroes.

Fast forward to 2014; more than 500,000 wreaths were delivered to almost 900 veterans cemeteries across the United States. Since 2012, the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) has coordinated this nationwide effort, as well as raised money for the placement of wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery.  Follow this link to learn how to participate.  You can follow them on Facebook by clicking here.
 

Comments (2)

Joey Slaughter

Joey Slaughter is the owner of Blue Ridge Transport, LLC. Joey has been in the trucking industry since 1992.

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Thanks Stephen! I appreciate your participation. I think last year was the first year they had enough wreaths to cover every Christian grave at Arlington.

December 05, 2015 13:11:06 PM

Good for you Joey! We want to do this in the future. I had the honor of laying a wreath back on Dec 11, 2010 (Wreaths Across America for 2010) at grave of Maj Thomas B. Mitchell at Arlington. I wear a POW/MIA bracelet bearing his name.

December 05, 2015 10:02:30 AM