Posted on 12/09/2010 4:14:43 PM PST by jazusamo
Thousands of volunteers will gather at Arlington National Cemetery tomorrow to participate in a solemn annual rite of remembrance. The Worcester Wreath Company of Harrington, Maine, working in conjunction with Wreaths Across America, will donate approximately 20,000 Maine balsam fir holiday wreaths to be placed on graves on America's most hallowed ground. The wreath-laying activities will begin at 8:30 and continue with ceremonies throughout the morning. Approximately 5,000 people are expected to brave the cold to honor our country's veterans.
This year, wreaths will be laid in sections 28, 38 and 43, three adjacent parcels near the northern edge of the cemetery, nestled along a creek bed traced by Lincoln Drive. Many of those laid to rest in this area passed away in the late 1950s and early 1960s, mostly veterans from the world wars who came home to enjoy the blessings of liberty they helped defend.
Some names on the stones found here are familiar. There is Ludwig Bemelmans, an Austrian American who served as a corporal in World War I and later authored the beloved "Madeline" series of children's brooks. Rep. Stewart Hoffman Appleby, a 1920s-era New Jersey Republican, served in the Marine Corps in World War I; during World War II, he joined the Coast Guard in his 50s. Ray Krouse is here, a Navy veteran of World War II who was a defensive lineman for the Colts and Redskins in the 1950s, as is Virginia native and baseball Hall of Famer Ernest "Boojum" Wilson, who was a corporal in World War I and played 23 years in the Negro League.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
” Wreaths will also be laid further south in section 60,
where casualties of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are put to rest,
sometimes called the saddest acre in America. “
” In section 60, one is more likely to see young men smoking cigars where a buddy lays buried,
or a wife with children visiting the grave of their absent hero.
Mementoes are common, as are fresh flowers and freshly dug graves.”
” Interments take place daily, and lines of tombstones march steadily east towards the columbarium across Marshall Drive. “
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