thedrifter
12-17-08, 06:16 AM
Black Hills residents remember the fallen
By Emilie Rusch, Journal staff
STURGIS -- Jay Wilson of Box Elder never met Pfc. Sheldon Hawk Eagle.
But every holiday season, the Vietnam-era veteran and Patriot Guard Rider lays a wreath on the soldier's grave at Black Hills National Cemetery in Sturgis.
"I don't have any personal friends out here, but this man was a warrior," Wilson said, pointing to the patch he wears bearing Hawk Eagle's name. The Eagle Butte man died in 2003 while serving in Iraq.
About 40 people gathered at the cemetery on a cold Saturday morning to remember the Black Hills' fallen and lay holiday wreaths for each branch of the military, the Merchant Marines and prisoners of war and those missing in action.
"To have a holiday wreath placed on a family member's or a stranger's grave site is a gift and a way to say, 'We remember,'" said Sara Elton, director of Black Hills National Cemetery.
The ceremony near Sturgis and one at Hot Springs National Cemetery were among the hundreds that took place Saturday at national and state veterans cemeteries as part of the annual Wreaths Across America campaign.
Worcester Wreath Company of Maine started the holiday wreath-laying program in 1992 at Arlington National Cemetery, according to the Wreaths Across America Web site. In the past three years, though, the program has expanded to include the Veterans Affairs's 125 national cemeteries and other state veterans cemeteries.
About 100,000 wreaths were placed in more than 350 locations this year.
After eight wreaths were laid to commemorate the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, Merchant Marines, POWs/MIA and those interred at Fort Meade National Cemetery, those who attended the ceremony were invited to take extra wreaths to grave sites of family members or strangers.
Each extra wreath was donated directly to the cemetery by businesses and individuals through Wreaths Across America, Elton said.
"If you look around, there's so much snow," Elton said. "It's that time of year people want to be around their family, and they can't."
Wilson, who laid the wreath in honor of the Marine Corps, said it is difficult for family members sitting around a Christmas tree or sharing a holiday meal not to think of the son or daughter who is missing.
"Who would it not be sad for?" Wilson said. "It's important this time of year to remember them."
Ellie
By Emilie Rusch, Journal staff
STURGIS -- Jay Wilson of Box Elder never met Pfc. Sheldon Hawk Eagle.
But every holiday season, the Vietnam-era veteran and Patriot Guard Rider lays a wreath on the soldier's grave at Black Hills National Cemetery in Sturgis.
"I don't have any personal friends out here, but this man was a warrior," Wilson said, pointing to the patch he wears bearing Hawk Eagle's name. The Eagle Butte man died in 2003 while serving in Iraq.
About 40 people gathered at the cemetery on a cold Saturday morning to remember the Black Hills' fallen and lay holiday wreaths for each branch of the military, the Merchant Marines and prisoners of war and those missing in action.
"To have a holiday wreath placed on a family member's or a stranger's grave site is a gift and a way to say, 'We remember,'" said Sara Elton, director of Black Hills National Cemetery.
The ceremony near Sturgis and one at Hot Springs National Cemetery were among the hundreds that took place Saturday at national and state veterans cemeteries as part of the annual Wreaths Across America campaign.
Worcester Wreath Company of Maine started the holiday wreath-laying program in 1992 at Arlington National Cemetery, according to the Wreaths Across America Web site. In the past three years, though, the program has expanded to include the Veterans Affairs's 125 national cemeteries and other state veterans cemeteries.
About 100,000 wreaths were placed in more than 350 locations this year.
After eight wreaths were laid to commemorate the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, Merchant Marines, POWs/MIA and those interred at Fort Meade National Cemetery, those who attended the ceremony were invited to take extra wreaths to grave sites of family members or strangers.
Each extra wreath was donated directly to the cemetery by businesses and individuals through Wreaths Across America, Elton said.
"If you look around, there's so much snow," Elton said. "It's that time of year people want to be around their family, and they can't."
Wilson, who laid the wreath in honor of the Marine Corps, said it is difficult for family members sitting around a Christmas tree or sharing a holiday meal not to think of the son or daughter who is missing.
"Who would it not be sad for?" Wilson said. "It's important this time of year to remember them."
Ellie