100K wreaths headed to Arlington National Cemetery

AP/YahooNews ^ | 12/4/11 | CLARKE CANFIELD

[Kartographer]

Twenty years ago, wreath company owner Morrill Worcester and a dozen other people laid 5,000 wreaths on headstones at Arlington National Cemetery. It was Worcester's way of giving thanks to the nation's veterans with leftover unsold wreaths. This year, Worcester has arranged for up to 100,000 wreaths to be placed on gravesites at the military cemetery on Dec. 10 in his biggest wreath-laying undertaking yet. A convoy of more than 20 trucks left Worcester Wreath Co. in the eastern Maine town of Harrington on Sunday to begin the six-day journey to the cemetery in Arlington, Va., outside Washington, the final resting place for hundreds of thousands of veterans and a tourist site that draws 4 million visitors a year. Along the way, there'll be ceremonies at schools, veterans' homes and in communities in Maine, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland.

[Kartographer]

Traffic moves by a parked convoy of tractor-trailers carrying wreaths, Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011, in Portland, Maine. Morrill Worcester, of Harrington, Maine, has arranged for up to 100,000 wreaths to be placed on grave sites at Arlington Cemetery Dec. 10 in his biggest wreath-laying undertaking yet. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) Janet Cole Cross, of Scarborough, Maine, left, thanks Morrill Worcester for his generosity at a ceremony at Chevrus High School, Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011, in Portland, Maine. Worcester, of Harrington, Maine, has arranged for up to 100,000 wreaths to be placed on gravesites at Arlington Cemetery Dec. 10 in his biggest wreath-laying undertaking yet. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

A convoy of tractor-trailers carrying wreaths arrives at Chevrus High School, Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011, in Portland, Maine. Morrill Worcester, of Harrington, Maine, has arranged for up to 100,000 wreaths to be placed on gravesites at Arlington Cemetery Dec. 10 in his biggest wreath-laying undertaking yet.(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

[Traveler59]

This is the reason I still have hope for America.

[Die_Hard Conservative Lady]

Me too! May God Bless this man and give him a safe journey.

[hsalaw]

Worcester never expected the wreath-laying effort to grow from a single tractor-trailer carrying a few thousand wreaths to 84 big rigs delivering wreaths to Arlington and hundreds of locations. Besides the Arlington ceremony, his Wreaths Across America organization has organized more than 700 other ceremonies at veterans' cemeteries and monuments across the country and overseas involving 225,000 wreaths.

This is so moving. And, on another level, this is how economic stimulus really works, and the Obozo and his handmaidens will never understand it. 84 big rigs (work for the drivers), 225K wreaths (work for the wreath makers), and the time and talents donated by the many volunteers to make it all happen at the memorials (drinking coffee and eating lunches bought from another business) - all because this man was moved to honor our war dead and others joined in to support that effort. God bless them all.

[hsalaw]

I love the hook-and-ladders with the flag. Very nice touch.

[rockrr]

This is a wonderful thing Mr. Worcester is doing.

[Slump Tester]

"...to begin the six-day journey to the cemetery in Arlington, Va..."

Good for him, but 6 days to go from Maine to DC? That doesn't sound right.

[PghBaldy]

From the sound of it, and my assumptions, they are making many stops to place wreaths at other locations.

[Kartographer]

These are from the Bagolor Daily News

Charles McGillicuddy, of the Sons of the American Revolution, leads a sunrise wreath-laying ceremony at Quoddy Head Lighthouse to kick off the 20th annual Wreaths Across America escort to Arlington National Ceremony on Dec. 3, 2011.

Volunteers placed close to 24,000 wreaths on headstones at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010. The wreaths were donated by Morill Worcester, owner of the Worcester Wreath Co. of Harrington.

[maine-iac7]

This is a wonderful thing Mr. Worcester is doing.

He's been doing it for years - Incredible.

I can't even imagine how much the gas for all those big rigs cost, let alone all the rest.

I can't imagine to process of making 100,000 wreaths

[maine-iac7]

Good for him, but 6 days to go from Maine to DC? That doesn't sound right.

Well, let's see, about 5 hours from northern Maine to NH - with a stop in Portland - that's a day just getting outta Maine. Then threading a convoy of big rigs through Mass. and Conn. - that's a nightmare I wouldn't want to contemplate.I imagine they get a lot of attention along the way - and media, etc...

[matthew fuller]

God bless you, Mr. Worcester.

[maine yankee]

84 big rigs delivering wreaths to Arlington and hundreds of locations. Besides the Arlington ceremony, Wreaths Across America organization has organized more than 700 other ceremonies at veterans’ cemeteries and monuments across the country and overseas involving 225,000 wreaths.

Check their website for a location near you.
http://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/
You may also purchase a wreath in someone’s honor, or make a donation.