Group reaches goal to mark vets' graves

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Wreaths Across America, a not-for-profit organization, reached its goal this year of getting sponsorship for enough wreaths to place one on each gravesite at the Missouri Veterans Cemetery at Bloomfield.

A ceremony will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Veterans Cemetery. After the opening of the ceremony by the American Legion Honor Guard, seven ceremonial wreaths representing each branch of service will be placed. The wreaths are provided by Worcester Wreath Co. of Harrington, Maine. The Patriot Guard Riders of Southeast Missouri will again host the event.

This marks the second consecutive year that enough money was raised through charitable groups, churches, civic groups and individuals to cover every grave at the cemetery in Bloomfield. Last year there were more donations for wreaths than needed at Bloomfield, and many wreaths were distributed throughout cemeteries in Stoddard County.

Ken Swearingen, with Missouri Veteran's Cemetery, said 50 wreaths were distributed to the American Legion to be put on veterans' gravesites at other cemeteries in the county and wreaths were also laid on graves at the Memorial Civil War Cemetery at Bloomfield. Swearingen said the first Wreaths Across America ceremony was held three years ago at Missouri Veterans Cemetery in Bloomfield. That year it involved placing the seven ceremonial wreaths without outside sponsorship. Last year was the first time an effort was made to raise funding for wreaths for the entire cemetery.

Teresa Wright with the Patriot Guard Riders of Chaffee, Mo., expressed her appreciation to the many groups and individuals who helped sponsor the event this year. She looks forward to the ceremony and a chance to view the many wreaths that will decorate the cemetery as a result of the generosity of the people in Southeast Missouri.

Swearingen said Wreaths Across America is a nationwide event.

The organization began more than 18 years ago when the Worcester Wreath Co. initiated a tradition of donating and placing wreaths on the headstones of our nation's fallen heroes at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. Recognition of the service and sacrifice of our veterans and their families is especially poignant during the holiday season.

On Sunday, more than 150,000 donated Christmas wreaths from Maine were shipped to more than 400 state and national veterans cemeteries all across the country as part of the annual Wreaths Across America project.

Wreaths will be placed in all 50 states from Maine to Alaska and Hawaii, at several locations in Iraq, and at 24 national cemeteries on foreign soil.