Monday, December 19, 2022

Wreaths Across America 2022

Up and out early this past Saturday morning to the Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Agawam, MA. My parents and several other family members are interred there. The Patriot Guard Riders nationwide play a huge role in this event. The truck convoy carrying the wreaths gets an escort. We stand flag lines for the ceremonies in the cemeteries as well as lay wreaths, and in January assist cemetery crews and other volunteers with picking them all up for recycling. I join the CT P.G.R. at the state cemetery in Middletown for wreath pickup. Because of the recent crummy weather only a couple of local MA guys had their bikes, everyone else was on four wheels.

Because this event has grown so large, parking for most volunteers is remote and they get brought in by shuttle bus. Six Flags New England provided the parking lots and free shuttle buses. The P.G.R. had our own coned off parking area because we were doing a police escorted procession to the cemetery. The ceremony was to begin at 10:00 so at 09:15 we did our procession, got parked, and assembled our flag lines. A lot of citizen volunteers were already in the cemetery so they got to see us roll in. We parked, assembled our flags, and lined up. We had a service flag held by a P.G.R. member behind the respective service monument as well a a POW/MIA and Gold Star flag. The rest of us had U.S. flags and formed a semi-circle behind the speaker's platform.

The ceremony was short and sweet, covered heavily by local media, and I heard several crowd estimates of 500+. It was opened by the singing of The Star Spangled Banner and Pledge of Allegiance performed by a local Army veteran. There was a guy that was the M.C., a short speech by the event organizer, and a short speech by the cemetery director. There were several politicians in attendance that were recognized but not allowed to speak. The rifle volleys were fired and taps was played by two local high school students. The ceremony concluded and it was time to lay wreaths. I missed last year and was told that this year was run differently and was structured to make sure no one bailed on the ceremony. Also, distribution of wreaths was much more controlled. Sounds like last year was a free for all.

I stowed my flag and quickly hoofed up the hill to get a wreath for my parent's grave. Their grave is located to the rear of the section so the chance of their grave already having a wreath on it was slim. I got to their stone, and in a loud voice recited Dad's name, service branch, rank, and era served. As I placed the wreath and stepped back to salute, the tears welled up. I bent down and kissed the back of the stone where Mom's name is and headed back down the hill. I procured another wreath to place on a random grave and placed it on the grave of one Francis J Murphy that was also a Navy veteran of Korea like my Dad.

Dad's older brother and my aunt are buried in the first section used when the cemetery was opened. Since their grave is only four rows back it normally gets a wreath quickly. Not this year. The wreath pickup was too far away, so I asked woman nearby if she wouldn't mind laying one of her wreaths on my uncle's grave. She was more than happy to, and I loudly read his details. He was a Marine in WWII and Korea. I also bent down and kissed the back of the stone where my aunt's name is inscribed.

There are 3 more family members buried there, but their graves are all over the cemetery so I just let others place the wreaths. When I am there for a P.G.R. mission, I visit them all and leave a shiny penny on the stone showing the graves were visited.

 

6 comments:

  1. Good onya brother, thank you for what you do. News reports here were good as well except for one cemetery that was short on needed wreaths but the number covered was significant.

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  2. What a wonderful tradition. May God bless you all.

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  3. That was good to see. My dad was a Korea vet as well, and he and my mom are buried at the nat'l cemetary in Bourne. Beautiful place. I left MA and try not to go back more than once every 5 years or so, but I do get to visit the grave and leave flowers, which apparently we're not supposed to do anymore because Massachusetts.
    The penny idea is something I haven't heard. I like that. I left a merchant marine challenge coin last time I visited.

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  4. I did a P.G.R. mission in the summer of 2020 at Bourne. You're right, it is a beautiful place. The staging spot is Cape Cod Harley-Davidson and is usually around 8 A.M., too early for an almost 3 hour ride for me. But the one I did was staging at 12:30 P.M. and worked out well for me.

    There is a whole thing about what coin to leave if you were in the military. A penny signifies the grave has been visited. A nickel means you went to boot camp together. A dime means you served togther, and a quarter means you were with the deceased when they died.

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  5. Thank you to all who served, and to those who honored the vets who have passed away. I have a picture of my dad and his 4 brothers, plus his mom and dad, with the 5 brothers all in their various uniforms.
    Only 1 brother was a lifer in the military, a veteran of the Army, he served in both Korea and Vietnam.
    I can't hear taps, without getting choked up. It was hard during high school, on memorial day, when we marched in our small town parade, then stood at attention while the 1st chair trumpet player went and played taps, while they held a ceremony at the parade grounds.
    I wonder if the young people of today have lost the respect for our military the same way that they did when I was in high school, graduating in 1978, and witnessing the horrible behavior of those older than me during the Vietnam war. While we say today that we were wrong to be there, at the time, if it had still been going on when I graduated, I would have enlisted in the military. At the time, I never thought that our government would lie to us. Now, I would be surprised if they ever told us the truth.

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    Replies
    1. @pigpen51: Wanna make a grizzled old Vietnam Vet well up with tears? Next time you see one wearing a Vietnam Vet hat, t-shirt, or jacket go up to them, shake their hand and tell them "Welcome Home!"

      It works every time.

      Delete

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