By Mike McCombs
The Island News
With just a few days before Saturday’s Wreaths Across America Day, Beaufort Coordinator David Edwards confirmed Monday, Dec. 9, that his organization is still several thousand remembrance wreaths short of being able to cover the headstones of all the 28,000 veteran heroes interred at Beaufort National Cemetery, a feat Edwards and many volunteers have made happen several years running.
If it seems like you’ve heard this response from Edwards before, you have.
“It’s not too late,” he said. “It’s not too late until they close the doors on the trucks on Saturday.”
Edwards habitually shies away from talking about specific numbers any more than he has to. He also acknowledges this has been a tough year for a lot of people between inflation, hurricanes and unease about what November’s election might mean for the economy.
“Still, …” he said. “I just want every one of our veteran heroes to be remembered. You know, if everybody in Beaufort just bought one wreath, we wouldn’t need any big purchases and we wouldn’t need any outside help. We’d get it done.”
To sponsor a Remembrance Wreath, which costs $17, click on the QR code on Wreaths Across America Beaufort’s Facebook page or visit www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/GA0175P. That code at the end of the web address guarantees the wreaths purchased make their way to Beaufort.
Beaufort County Veterans Affairs joins Wreaths Across America Beaufort again this year as a partner.
The trucks and motorcycle escort will arrive at 11:30 a.m., with the brief ceremony beginning at noon.
Cemetery gates will be closed at 9 a.m. so people are asked to park on the surrounding streets. No cars will be allowed to park on the Avenue of Flags — it needs to be kept clear for the tractor trailers and motorcycle escort.
Family members of the two Medal of Honor recipients will place the first wreaths. The public is asked to let families who have loved ones buried in BNC, place their wreaths on their loved ones’ graves first, then the public is welcome to place the remaining wreaths.
If parking inside the cemetery, please do not park on the grass, tree roots or graves. Please stay on the pavement. When parking on side streets around the cemetery wall, please be equally attentive and keep parking on private property to a minimum.
Wreaths Across America Beaufort is in its 19th year of attempting to make sure all 28,000 veteran heroes buried in Beaufort National Cemetery have a Remembrance Wreath on their headstones.
Wreaths Across America is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded to continue and expand the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery begun by Maine businessman Morrill Worcester in 1992. The organization’s mission – Remember, Honor, Teach – is carried out in part each year by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies in December at Arlington, as well as at thousands of veterans’ cemeteries and other locations in all 50 states and beyond.
In 2023, the organization placed more than three million sponsored veterans’ wreaths at more than 3,700 participating locations nationwide and in Europe. For more information, visit www.wreathsacrossamerica.org.
Mike McCombs is the Editor of The Island News and can be reached at TheIslandNews@gmail.com.
