Dec. 10—SHAWNEE TOWNSHIP — It has been a tradition at cemeteries across the United States since 1992, and this year, it will be coming to Allen County for the first time.
Wreaths Across America is a program dedicated to honoring the lives of deceased American service members by laying balsam wreaths at their graves. Since its beginnings, when a wreath-making company in Maine took surplus wreaths to lay at graves in Arlington National Cemetery, the program has grown to include thousands of cemeteries nationwide, according to Shawnee Cemetery Sexton Lesa Wende.
“Countrywide, there will be four million wreaths laid all on the same day,” she said. “There are 255 [participating] cemeteries in Ohio. It’s pretty amazing the numbers that we have here.”
The wreaths arrived Tuesday morning at Shawnee United Methodist Church, the truck receiving a police and fire escort as it arrived. Shawnee Cemetery is set to be the first cemetery in Allen County to participate in the ceremony, which is scheduled for noon Saturday. Wende hopes that other cemeteries in the area will be inspired to take part in the future. She also noted that the wreaths are not reserved solely for service members who have died in combat. Wreaths are laid at the grave of any veteran.
“In our cemetery, we have a brigadier general from the War of 1812,” she said. “There’s the Civil War, World War II, World War I, you name it. We also have Christian Neff, the Gold Star who was killed in action in 2007 in Iraq. If you’re a veteran, you get a wreath to honor your life.
Saturday’s ceremony will include remarks from Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and retired Ohio National Guard Lt. Col. William Stratton.
The cemetery is looking for volunteers to help lay the wreaths after the ceremony. To learn more or to volunteer, contact Wende at 419-236-3157 or go to the Shawnee Cemetery Facebook page at https://bit.ly/3Vx0xMG.
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