With the holidays approaching, Coast locals are encouraged to take time out of their holiday schedules on Saturday, December 16, to help honor the military men and women who dedicated their lives to providing safety and preserving America’s freedoms.
That Saturday, the Long Beach City Cemetery, located on Girard Avenue, will be the site of a 1 p.m. memorial service in coordination with National Wreaths Across America Day.
Members of all U.S. military branches were on hand for last year’s Wreaths Across America event, which was also held at the Long Beach Cemetery. This local, annual memorial service is being held in Long Beach, thanks to members of the Eddie Blake VFW Post 3937 and the Donnie Levens American Legion Post 1995, who will again be laying wreaths at the conclusion of this year’s ceremony. Volunteers are welcome and encouraged to assist in the laying of the wreaths.
Last year, two hundred sixty-five hand-made, live balsam wreaths were laid on the graves of veterans buried at the Long Beach Cemetery.
The Wreaths Across America program started in December 1992, when wreath-maker Morrill Worcester found himself with a surplus of 5,000 wreaths during the holiday season. Worcester saw the surplus as an opportunity to pay tribute to the country's veterans and arranged for the wreaths to be placed at Arlington National Cemetery. This now-annual tribute to the country's veterans has continued ever since, touching the lives of millions of veterans' families and volunteers and growing in scope to a local level through the years.
In 2007, the Worcester family, along with veterans and volunteers, formed the non-profit organization Wreaths Across America to continue and expand their efforts at Arlington National Cemetery and to support those around the country who wished to do the same.
Wreaths Across America's mission is simple: remember the fallen, honor those that serve, and teach the next generation about the value of freedom. In 2022, overall, Wreaths Across America and its national network of volunteers placed nearly 2.7 million veterans' wreaths at more than 3,702 locations in all fifty U.S. states, at sea and abroad.
In 2022, with the financial support of businesses, organizations, and veterans’ families and friends, members of the Eddie Blake VFW Post 3937 and the Donnie Levens American Legion Post 1995 were able to lay a wreath at every one of the known veterans’ gravesites at the Long Beach Cemetery.
Anyone who knows of a veteran at the cemetery who does not have a gravesite indication that he or she is a veteran, is asked to let event organizers know, so that they can ensure that he or she also receives a wreath.
Each hand-made, fresh, live wreath costs $17 and is made in the United States with Maine balsam.
For those who wish to remember and honor deceased veterans, sponsorships or donations can be mailed or delivered to VFW Post 3937, 213 Klondyke Road, Long Beach MS 39560 or to American Legion Post 1995, PO Box 550, Long Beach MS 39560. Mailed sponsorships should include the name of the veteran who is being sponsored.
Those sponsoring a wreath are asked to let local organizers know if they are sponsoring a specific gravesite. Although the Long Beach City Cemetery will be the focus of the wreath laying, wreaths for veterans interred at other Long Beach and neighboring cemeteries can be sponsored and picked up that afternoon after the ceremony.
For more information, contact Wendy Griffioen at 228-424-6910 or Margaret Levens at 228-341-3574.
