Wreaths Across America following strict guidelines for Covid-19
From staff reports
Wreaths Across America Beaufort will be placing Remembrance Wreaths at Beaufort National Ceremony beginning at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 19.
Due to Centers for Disease Control and National Cemetery Association restrictions, there will be no program and no ceremony this year, and volunteer groups will be limited to 50 people in the cemetery at a time.
Having passed the halfway goal in Remembrance Wreath sponsorships, current wreath sponsorship stands at more than 13,000 wreaths.
There are more than 21,000 veteran heroes buried in Beaufort National Cemetery, including 1000 children and two Congressional Medal of Honor recipients.
Due to volunteer limitations, priority will be given to family members wanting to place wreaths on the headstones of loved ones. Small groups will be rotated in half hour increments at various locations around the cemetery.
Trucks will arrive with the Remembrance Wreaths and the traditional motorcycle escort at 10:45 a.m. If the public would like to watch the escort and arrival of the tractor trailers, they are asked to stay outside the cemetery gates.
When the trucks enter the cemetery, boxes of wreaths will be unloaded and distributed to the volunteer groups at their locations around the cemetery.
Groups must be registered with Location Coordinator David Edwards or will not be allowed to enter the cemetery per National Cemetery Association guidelines. He can be reached at waabeaufort@outlook.com or by calling 912-313-1506.
Parking within the cemetery will be strictly limited. Members of the public not volunteering in groups are asked to visit the cemetery to pay their respects in the days after the Remembrance Wreaths are placed.
Remembrance Wreath retirement will be Saturday, Jan. 23.
JERSEY MIKE’S HELPS WITH WREATHS AT ARLINGTON
Sub sandwich franchise Jersey Mike’s Subs on Monday, Dec. 7, made a $300,000 challenge grant to support Wreaths Across America.
Through this donation, Jersey Mike’s has once again stepped up to help WAA reach its goal of placing a live veteran’s wreath on every headstone at Arlington National Cemetery. Through Monday, Dec. 14, every $15 wreath sponsorship made at www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/JerseyMikes will be matched by the company, up to $300,000.
Since 2010, Jersey Mike’s has supported WAA’s mission with more than $2.2 million dollars. Last year, 2.2 million veterans’ wreaths were placed in honor of veterans nationally and abroad, including on all the markers of those buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
“Experiencing the placement of a wreath, and knowing the impact that one simple action has for so many, is truly meaningful,” Jersey Mike’s founder and CEO Peter Cancro said in a release. “The thought of a headstone being left bare is unimaginable and it something we want to help make sure doesn’t happen.”
