booksbenji
11-29-06, 03:09 PM
Pardon the Eyeball Sweat, Sirs and Ma'am's:
12 November 2006:
HARRINGTON, MAINE - The elderly man on the telephone, a World War II veteran, was calling all the way from Texas.
He'd just heard about the company Down East that donates wreaths by the thousands each Christmas to Arlington National Cemetery. But like so many people, he couldn't quite believe it.
"Is it really true?" he asked Sherry Scott, office manager for the Worcester Wreath Co.
"Yes, it's true," Scott replied.
The old soldier went silent for a few moments.
"Then he just broke down," Scott recalled. "He cried and he cried and he cried. And I'm crying on the other end. Finally, he pulled himself together and I think we must have talked for a half hour."
About what?
"Basically," Scott said, "he just thought it was the most unbelievable thing he'd ever heard of."
Unbelievable indeed. While the country prepares to celebrate Veterans Day with parades and memorial services Saturday, Worcester Wreath Co. is hard at work on its own tribute to those who served in the armed forces.
Next month, for the 15th straight year, 5,000 Worcester wreaths will be loaded aboard a tractor-trailer and hauled 750 miles to Arlington National Cemetery. There, starting at noon on December 14, 2006, a small army of volunteers will line up, take the wreaths one by one and gently lay them against the small white crosses.
And this year, there's more. On the same day at the same time, a half-dozen Worcester wreaths -- one bearing the flag of each military branch and one with the POW/MIA flag -- will be laid in each of 230 veterans cemeteries and monuments spread out over all 50 states.
It's called Wreaths Across America. And if you're wondering why a seasonal company halfway to nowhere would do such a thing, look no further than President Morrill Worcester's opening words in a video on the project's Web site:
(www.wreathsacrossamerica.org.)
"When people hear about what we do at Arlington, I am often asked if I am a veteran," Worcester says. "I am not. But I have made it my business to never forget."
The rest of the story:
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/wr...placed-2006.htm
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_christmas_arlington.htm
ATTENTION ON DECK
PRESENT ARMS
ORDER ARMS
S/F, BRO'S AND SISTERS
12 November 2006:
HARRINGTON, MAINE - The elderly man on the telephone, a World War II veteran, was calling all the way from Texas.
He'd just heard about the company Down East that donates wreaths by the thousands each Christmas to Arlington National Cemetery. But like so many people, he couldn't quite believe it.
"Is it really true?" he asked Sherry Scott, office manager for the Worcester Wreath Co.
"Yes, it's true," Scott replied.
The old soldier went silent for a few moments.
"Then he just broke down," Scott recalled. "He cried and he cried and he cried. And I'm crying on the other end. Finally, he pulled himself together and I think we must have talked for a half hour."
About what?
"Basically," Scott said, "he just thought it was the most unbelievable thing he'd ever heard of."
Unbelievable indeed. While the country prepares to celebrate Veterans Day with parades and memorial services Saturday, Worcester Wreath Co. is hard at work on its own tribute to those who served in the armed forces.
Next month, for the 15th straight year, 5,000 Worcester wreaths will be loaded aboard a tractor-trailer and hauled 750 miles to Arlington National Cemetery. There, starting at noon on December 14, 2006, a small army of volunteers will line up, take the wreaths one by one and gently lay them against the small white crosses.
And this year, there's more. On the same day at the same time, a half-dozen Worcester wreaths -- one bearing the flag of each military branch and one with the POW/MIA flag -- will be laid in each of 230 veterans cemeteries and monuments spread out over all 50 states.
It's called Wreaths Across America. And if you're wondering why a seasonal company halfway to nowhere would do such a thing, look no further than President Morrill Worcester's opening words in a video on the project's Web site:
(www.wreathsacrossamerica.org.)
"When people hear about what we do at Arlington, I am often asked if I am a veteran," Worcester says. "I am not. But I have made it my business to never forget."
The rest of the story:
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/wr...placed-2006.htm
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_christmas_arlington.htm
ATTENTION ON DECK
PRESENT ARMS
ORDER ARMS
S/F, BRO'S AND SISTERS