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December 24, 2006

Christmas Comes to Arlington, Too...

I'm sure this has been posted elsewhere on the web -- and I don't mind one bit if I get deluged with comments telling me where you've seen it. It's just too good a story *not* to keep in the light at this time of the year.

Back in 1992, Merrill Worcester discovered he'd accidentally ordered several hundred too many wreaths (he owns Worcester Wreath Company in Harrington, ME -- shameless, gratuitous plug -- buy a wreath from him if you're in that neck of the woods). He thought they were too pretty to just throw away, so he loaded them on his truck with the idea of donating them to a service organization. He fired up his truck and started down the road, looking for a representative of a worthy organization.

He wound up outside the gate at Arlington.

He'd found his worthy representatives.

In 1993, he didn't overorder, but he *did* specify that his supplier make up an extra 5,000 wreaths and deliver them to Arlington. He's done it every year since then and -- every year -- a bunch of school kids from Harrington help him place the wreaths.

Arlington has more than 5,000 graves, so, every year, Merrill coordinates with the site caretakers and, every year, the graves in two different sections receive the warmth of a wreath.

Except for this site.

The Unknowns are warmed every year...

Green boughs for the living memory and red bows for the lifeblood stilled. Rest easy, Brothers -- the Line holds...

CW4BillT | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0) | Something for the Soul
Comments on Christmas Comes to Arlington, Too...
Heartless Libertarian briefed on December 24, 2006 01:04 PM

Note that Merrill also sends much smaller numbers of wreaths to military cemetaries around the country-because heroes are buried in many places besides Arlington.

Here in WA, the cemetary at the Washington Soldiers' Home received 6 wreaths from Merrill, and another 300 from a local supplier.

The effort is called Wreaths Across America.

(Source is dead tree: the Ft Lewis Ranger [note-not an offical FLWA publication]) The wreathed grave pictured on the front page belonged to Corporal Josoph Shupe of Company F, 28th Pennsylvania Infantry.

BillT briefed on December 24, 2006 02:31 PM

Thanks for the specifics, HL. Geez, John's got you guys so flummoxed you'll even research stuff on Christmas Eve...

Gwedd briefed on December 24, 2006 09:06 PM

Comrades,

Yeah, well, gotta kill some time before the sleigh arrives and that old fatman gets soot prints all over the carpet...:)

I live up in Maine, and what's really impressive about this whole bidness is the way the locals turn out. He lets the town know when the trucks will be leaving for the trip, and nearly the whole town turns out to line the streets and see those good folks off with their precious gift.

Nice to see some folks still get it.

My very best this Christmas to all of you here, and to my brothers and sisters keeping the watch in the far away.

Respects,

Maggie briefed on December 24, 2006 09:28 PM

Morrill Worcester was the FoxNewsSunday "Power Player of the Week". He talked about how he plans to expand next year.
There is also a website.
http://www.wreathsacrossamerica.com/
For the Fox story, this is the video link.
http://www.wreathsacrossamerica.com/

Maggie briefed on December 24, 2006 09:35 PM

Messed up the second URL. That's what I get for being out here instead of wrapping presents!

I can't post the link anyway because it contains *FoxNews*. I think I know why, there was some nitwit spamming FoxNews for a while. Anyway......you'll have to go to the FoxNews Sunday website. It's a featured story.

There's also video in the Wreaths Across America website.

John of Argghhh! briefed on December 25, 2006 07:59 AM

Thanks for the specifics, HL. Geez, John's got you guys so flummoxed you'll even research stuff on Christmas Eve...

Chicken Soup for an old Platform and Small Group Instructor's soul...

Maggie, you are correct. Prolly time to lift the interdict on Fox.

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