The Toil of Tradition

This is the time of year when traditions drive a great deal of who we are and how we behave. Smiles are a little brighter, steps are a little lighter, and hearts are gladder as we wish one another the best of the holiday season however it is we choose to celebrate and share it.

This Saturday is one of my more favorite holiday traditions and while it's somber and solemn, it's also in keeping with the season as we spend a moment or more thinking of others and what they sacrificed for us. I've offered similar thoughts in previous years-just think of it as my part of the tradition.

This Saturday at noon is the annual Wreaths Across America (WAA) Day observance conducted by American Legion Post 104 at Taftville's Sacred Heart Cemetery to honor veterans during the holidays. 

Recognizing the service and sacrifice of our veterans and their families is very poignant anytime but truly timely and appropriate during the traditional holiday season. Doing for others can help us refocus on what this time of year is about for so many, being with those for whom we care and who care for us. 

Wreaths Across America has a three-fold mission: Remember, Honor, and Teach. 

Every year for over a quarter of a century this national outreach has coordinated wreath-laying ceremonies on veterans’ graves on the second or third Saturday in December at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, as well as veterans’ cemeteries and other locations in each of our 50 states, at sea, and in over two dozen cemeteries in other nations where US military members have been interred.

The Taftville ceremony is always well-attended but there is still room for you to be there, too. Seven specially designated wreaths for the Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Merchant Marine, and Prisoners of War (POW) and Missing In Action (MIA) will be placed on memorials following some brief remarks by Mayor Nystrom and State Senator Osten. 

Following the conclusion of the ceremony at Sacred Heart Cemetery, there will be a second ceremony with nine wreaths placed in Monument Park at Chelsea Parade.

If only for the few moments the two ceremonies take, neither we nor those whose sacrifice we are remembering are alone, and that's as it should be, and not just for the holidays. No matter the temperature and weather conditions, your presence will warm the hearts of the organizers as well as your own.

As an attendee in previous years I always admire the words offered by those who speak during the ceremonies because I can never find my own words to capture the essence and adequately describe a heartfelt and homegrown acknowledgment of the lives of our departed veterans (of all services and from every conflict and era of our history). 

It's a time for us as a community to gather, reflect, and remember the fallen, honor those still in service and remind one another freedom is free only with sacrifice. 

I’ll look for you Saturday at noon.

-bill kenny