January 16, 2008
Closing 2007 and Looking Forward to 2008!
The New Year is upon us and I am still challenged with sorting thru the hundreds upon hundreds of photos, videos, and personal sentiments shared in December over the wreath-laying events. What an amazing outpouring of patriotism and recognition of the sacrifices made by our service men and women!I can only share bits and pieces here, but I think you will appreciate some of the photos and links that will open the door to what has truly become a nationwide campaign of remembrance.
2007 Events begin with Escort to Arlington
The 2007 Wreaths Across America events began this year on the morning of Sunday, December 9th as volunteers met in Harrington to finish decorating and loading the trucks for their journey. The Escort was again hosted by the Patriot Guard and special thanks to John and Bunny O'Leary for all their planning time and efforts.
In this photo you can see the line of trucks and escort vehicles as they pass thru Ellsworth, Maine. At one point the whole escort stretched 3 miles from nose to tail!
A couple of years ago, we would never have guessed that the Wreath Escort would become an event in and of itself, and a greater opportunity to publicly show appreciation to veterans for their years of service and sacrifice. This year the Escort made the 750-mile journey to Virginia over the course of a full week, making twenty two stops at schools, veterans homes, and civic venues along the way. The receptions were incredible!
In this photo (compliments of Will, one of our friends and driver with Hartt Transportation) an unnamed student welcomes the Escort at an elementary school outside Philadelphia.
And ultimately, isn't this what it is all about. The Wreaths Across America mission is the Remember the fallen; Honor those who serve; AND Teach our children the sacrifices made to preserve our freedoms.
As the Escort was slowly making its way down Route 1 to Arlington, each stop provided a greater and greater opportunity to thank veterans in each and every community along the way. Here Morrill Worcester is caught in a contemplative moment at one of the receptions... do you think he ever imagined that the tradition he started over 15 years ago would grow into such a wonderful display of patriotism and appreciation all across the country?
While many of the folks from HQ were involved in the Escort, I had the opportunity to help with media requests. If you have a few minutes, you might appreciate this radio interview with WSPY's Chris Schemlein in Plano Illinois. I thought they did a nice job capturing the big picture of the wreath-laying events.
To play the radio interview – click here.
If you are interested in seeing other news stories and articles about Wreaths Across America events from all around the Country, check out this page from Civil Air Patrol:
Media links - click here
If you are interested you can also click over to the website and click on the
Location Pages to see where people have submitted photos and links about events at your favorite participating location. If no one has submitted anything yet, be the first! Or take a moment to read some of the comments left by visitors, some who learned about the wreath-laying event for the first time when they visited loved one in December.
Well, I can see that this newsletter is running long and I have so much to share, so stay tuned for upcoming editions where we share more from 2007 as well as the plans going into the 2008 events.
Mark your calendars because Saturday, December 13th, 2008 is designated as the event day for this coming year!
Regards and appreciation.
Tobin Wreaths Across America
P.S. One last note about the Wreath Escort. Did you know that not only did we have an amazing turnout for the escort of wreaths from Maine to Virginia for placement at Arlington National Cemetery - but some of our Location Leaders all around the Country enlisted the support of the Patriot Guard in coordinating escorts into their local veterans' cemetery.
This has to be the World's Largest/Longest Veterans' Parade! We look forward to making it even bigger next year, all in the name of bringing recognition back to the service men and women, past and present, who deserve our support and appreciation.