Wreaths Across America

Last updated
Wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery supplied by Wreaths Across America in 2013 Wreaths Across America 131214-A-SW162-006.jpg
Wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery supplied by Wreaths Across America in 2013

Wreaths Across America is an American nonprofit organization established in 2007 by wreath producer Morrill Worcester, assisted by veterans and truckers. [1] Its primary activity is distributing Veteran's wreaths for placement on graves in military cemeteries. In December 2008, the United States Senate agreed to a resolution that designated December 13, 2008, as Wreaths Across America Day. [2] Subsequent National Wreaths Across America Days have been designated on the second or third Saturday of December.

Contents

History

In 1992, the Worcester Wreath company in Harrington, Maine, had a surplus at the end of the Christmas holiday season. Recalling a boyhood trip to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, company founder Morrill Worcester donated to the cemetery 5,000 wreaths to honor the cemetery's dead, [3] with the help of volunteers and a local trucking company. After thirteen years of similar donations, in 2005 a photo of snowy gravestones covered with wreaths at the cemetery received widespread circulation on the internet. Thousands of people called Worcester, wanting to replicate the wreath-laying service at their own veteran cemeteries. [1]

At the end of 2006, Worcester's company supplied wreaths to over 230 state and national cemeteries and veterans monuments across the country. [4] Over 150 different locations simultaneously held ceremonies with Arlington's. Additionally, the project had its first "Veterans Honor Parade" with "Patriot Guard Riders" who escorted the wreaths from Maine to the cemetery. The parade, which is held each year, now visits schools, monuments, veterans' homes and communities along its route. [1]

Activities

In 2014, volunteers placed over 700,000 memorial wreaths at 1,000 locations in the United States and overseas, including the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, Bunker Hill, Valley Forge, and the National September 11 Memorial at the World Trade Center site in New York City. During that year, volunteers were able to place wreaths in all sections of Arlington Cemetery for the first time. [1] In 2016, this number increased to 1.2 million wreaths being placed at more than 1,230 cemeteries across the nation. [5]

Conflicts of interest

Conflict of interest charges have been made against Wreaths Across America because this charity has an exclusive for-profit supplier, Worcester Wreath Company, also run by the Morrill family in the same town. The charity's purchases of wreaths from this company account for most of the company's revenue and profits. In late 2015, The Wall Street Journal reported serious conflicts of interest with potential malfeasance in governance and contracting. [6] In 2015 alone, the Journal reported profits of over $1 million on sales of over 850,000 wreaths to the charity raising concerns about competitive bidding, reporting that several competitors had asked to bid significantly below the price offered by Worcester Wreath company but were denied access. [6] In 2016, Wreaths Across America, implemented a request for proposal process for the provision of wreaths which is managed by the board of directors. [7] The organization has stated that they intend to address perceptions of conflict of interest by selecting an outside agency to manage the entire RFP process in 2023. [8]

Flagpole of Freedom Park proposal

In early 2022, Morrill Worcester announced a proposed Flagpole of Freedom Park to be located on 2,500 acres (1,000 ha) of his family's land in Columbia Falls in Downeast Maine. [9] [10] The project is separate from Wreaths Across America and is managed by Morrill, Rob, and Mike Worcester. While Morrill is the founder of both projects they are run by different management teams and governed independently of each other. [11]

The centerpiece flagpole has a planned height of 1,461 feet (445 m), slightly taller than the Empire State Building, and including the hill below it will be 1,776 feet (541 m) above sea level (a reference to 1776, the year of the U.S.'s declaration of independence), with two observation decks, one at the top. [10] LeMessurier Consultants has been tasked with designing the structure. [9] The size of the flag has been described as the size of one and a half American football fields. [10]

The park is also slated to include 55 individual remembrance-wall parks carved with the names of every military veteran in US. history. [10] The entry to the park is to be a faux-historical village known as Village of Old Glory, with museums, restaurants, shops, hotels and a live event venue. [9] [10]

Morrill Worcester's son Mike said that the for-profit park will not seek government funding and hopes to obtain private funding. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Arlington)</span> Monument dedicated to U.S. service members who have died without their remains being identified

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a historic monument dedicated to deceased U.S. service members whose remains have not been identified. It is located in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, United States. The World War I "Unknown" is a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the Victoria Cross, and several other foreign nations' highest service awards. The U.S. Unknowns who were interred are also recipients of the Medal of Honor, presented by U.S. presidents who presided over their funerals. The monument has no officially designated name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arlington National Cemetery</span> Military cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, US

Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Saturday. The other Army cemetery is in Washington, D.C. and is called the U.S. Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery. All other national cemeteries are run by the National Cemetery System of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sioux Center, Iowa</span> Town in Iowa, United States

Sioux Center is a city in Sioux County, Iowa. The population was 8,229 at the time of the 2020 census. Sioux Center is notable for its Dutch heritage, agribusiness, and as the location of Dordt University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States National Cemetery System</span> Cemeteries for veterans in the United States

The United States National Cemetery System is a system of 164 cemeteries in the United States and its territories. The authority to create military burial places came during the American Civil War, in an act passed by the U.S. Congress on July 17, 1862. By the end of 1862, 12 national cemeteries had been established. A national cemetery is generally a military cemetery containing the graves of U.S. military personnel, veterans and their spouses, but not exclusively so. The best-known national cemetery is Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, adjacent to Washington, D.C. Some national cemeteries, especially Arlington, have graves of civilian leaders and other national figures. Some national cemeteries also contain sections for Confederate soldiers. In addition to national cemeteries, there are also state veteran cemeteries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific</span> Veterans cemetery in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States

The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific is a national cemetery located at Punchbowl Crater in Honolulu, Hawaii. It serves as a memorial to honor those men and women who served in the United States Armed Forces, and those who have given their lives in doing so. It is administered by the National Cemetery Administration of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Millions of visitors visit the cemetery each year, and it is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Hawaii.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arlington West</span>

Arlington West is a series of projects in coastal California intended to draw public attention to, and to open a discourse on the subject of both military and civilian deaths during the invasion and occupation of Iraq in the early 21st century. The projects, consisting of symbolic grave markers established at beaches, have been implemented at beaches in Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, San Diego, and elsewhere. There is also a similar, but differently named Lafayette Hillside Memorial in the San Francisco Bay Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arlington Memorial Amphitheater</span> Historic site in Arlington County, Virginia

Memorial Amphitheater is an outdoor amphitheater, exhibit hall, and nonsectarian chapel located in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States. Designed in 1913 as a replacement for the older, wooden amphitheater near Arlington House, ground was broken for its construction in March 1915 and it was dedicated in May 1920. In the center of its eastern steps is the Tomb of the Unknowns, dedicated in 1921. It has served as the site for numerous Veterans Day and Memorial Day services, as well as for memorial services and funerals for many individuals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in Military Service for America Memorial</span>

The Women In Military Service For America Memorial, also known as Military Women's Memorial, is a memorial established by the U.S. federal government which honors women who have served in the United States Armed Forces. The memorial is located at the western end of Memorial Avenue at the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States. The structure in which the memorial is housed was originally known as the Hemicycle, and built in 1932 to be a ceremonial entrance to the cemetery. It never served this purpose, and was in disrepair by 1986. Congress approved the memorial in 1985, and the Hemicycle approved as the site for the memorial in 1988. An open design competition was won by New York City architects Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi. Their original design was leaked to the public, and caused significant controversy. Two years of fund-raising and design revision followed. A revised preliminary design was approved in July 1992, and the final design in March 1995. Ground was broken for the memorial in June 1995, and the structure was dedicated on October 18, 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culpeper National Cemetery</span> Historic veterans cemetery in Culpeper County, Virginia

Culpeper National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the town of Culpeper, in Culpeper County, Virginia. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses 29.6 acres (120,000 m2) of land, and as 2021, had over 14,000 interments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David B. Barkley</span>

David Bennes Barkley was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions during World War I in France. After successfully completing a scouting mission behind enemy lines he drowned while swimming back across the Meuse River near Pouilly-sur-Meuse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Latham Confederate Monument</span> United States historic place

The Latham Confederate Monument in Hopkinsville, Kentucky's Riverside Cemetery, is a monument on the National Register of Historic Places.

USS <i>Maine</i> Mast Memorial Monument in Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia

The USS Maine Mast Memorial is a memorial honoring those who died aboard the USS Maine (ACR-1) on February 15, 1898, after a mysterious explosion destroyed the ship while at anchor in Havana Harbor. It is located in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States. The memorial consists of the main mast of the battleship set atop a circular concrete burial receiving vault designed to resemble a battleship turret. The memorial has occasionally been used to hold the remains of important individuals, such as Lord Lothian and Ignacy Jan Paderewski.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spanish–American War Nurses Memorial</span> Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery, USA

The Spanish–American War Nurses Memorial is a memorial in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States that commemorates those American nurses who died in the Spanish–American War in 1898. The rough-hewn, grey granite memorial was erected by the Order of Spanish–American War Nurses on May 2, 1905. It stands in the southwestern corner of Section 21, where the first Spanish–American War nurses are buried.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Confederate Memorial (Arlington National Cemetery)</span> Monument in Arlington National Cemetery built in 1914

The Confederate Memorial is a memorial in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States, that commemorates members of the armed forces of the Confederate States of America who died during the American Civil War. Authorized in March 1906, former Confederate soldier and sculptor Moses Jacob Ezekiel was commissioned by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in November 1910 to design the memorial. It was unveiled by President Woodrow Wilson on June 4, 1914.

The Lao Veterans of America Institute (LVAI) is a national non-profit organization based in Fresno, and the Central Valley, of California, with chapters throughout California. It is one of the largest ethnic Lao- and Hmong-American veterans organizations representing tens of thousands of Lao Hmong veterans who served in the Vietnam War in the Royal Kingdom of Laos as well as their refugee families who were resettled in the United States after the conflict.

Acadia National Cemetery is a 6.2 acre Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) national cemetery located in Washington County, Maine. The cemetery will serve the burial needs of Veterans, their spouses and eligible family members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flagpole of Freedom Park</span>

The Flagpole of Freedom Park is a proposed multi-use complex to be built at Columbia Falls, Maine for the United States Semiquincentennial.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Our Story". Columbia Falls, Maine: Wreaths Across America. Archived from the original on September 29, 2016. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  2. ↑ S.Res. 726 at Congress.gov
  3. ↑ Robert Golomb; The Published Reporter, Wreaths Across America: Remembering, Honoring And Teaching About Our Nation's Military Heroes
  4. ↑ Leipold, J.D. (December 15, 2006). "Veterans' Cemeteries Across America Receive Wreaths". United States Army. Archived from the original on June 17, 2016. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  5. ↑ Carmichael, Linda. "Wreaths Across America in planning stages". Tehachapi News. Archived from the original on April 7, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  6. 1 2 Phillips, Michael M. (December 21, 2015). "Wreaths Across America Has Family-Ties To Its Supplier". The Wall Street Journal . Archived from the original on July 11, 2017. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
  7. ↑ http://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/how-wreaths-across-america-works
  8. ↑ wreathsacrossamerica.org/vendor-inquiries
  9. 1 2 3 4 Cyndi Wood. "Flagpole of Freedom Park to feature world’s tallest flag." The Ellsworth American. 30 March 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Bryan Sidelinger. "Founder of Wreaths Across America unveils plans for world tallest flagpole for Downeast Maine." WABI. 29 March 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  11. ↑ flagpoleorfreedom.com/faqs/
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.