On Saturday December 17th, Executive Director, Victoria Levinger of the Wall f Honor foundation placed wreaths to honor Veterans that are no longer with us.This was part of the Wreaths Across America program which placed wreaths at thousands of cemeteries throughout America.
The donation of wreaths from the Worcester Wreath Co. began as a personal tribute from the Worcester family to military veterans who gave their lives for this country. The family quietly made these wreath donations to Arlington National Cemetery for nearly 15 years before a photo set them on a path they hadn’t dreamed about.
The photo — of the company’s wreaths at Arlington covered in snow — went viral in 2006. Shortly thereafter, the Worcester Wreath Co. began receiving unsolicited money from people who were touched by the wreaths and what they represented, and who wanted to participate by sponsoring wreaths themselves.
Vietnam Veterans Of America Local Chapter #966
In 2008, over 300 locations held wreath-laying ceremonies in every state, Puerto Rico and 24 overseas cemeteries. Over 100,000 wreaths were placed on veterans’ graves. Over 60,000 volunteers participated. And that year, December 13, 2008 was unanimously voted by the US Congress as “Wreaths Across America Day”.
In 2014, Wreaths Across America and its national network of volunteers laid over 700,000 memorial wreaths at 1,000 locations in the United States and beyond, including ceremonies at the Pearl Harbor Memorial, as well as Bunker Hill, Valley Forge and the sites if the September 11 tragedies.