On Saturday, Dec. 14, St. Augustine’s National Cemetery was among more than 3,700 veterans cemeteries, including nine in Florida, to honor servicemen and women from the Revolutionary War to present day by adorning 1,240 headstones with wreaths as a part of National Wreaths Across America day.
St. Augustine’s American Legion Post 37 motorcade and the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office escorted a truck filled with wreaths from I-95 to the oldest national cemetery in America and were greeted by St. Augustine’s Boy Scouts of America, America’s young Sea Cadets, Army Junior Reserve Training Officers, CAP Cadets, ladies of the American Legion post 194, St. Augustine Beach Mayor Dylan Rumrell, Sheriff Robert Hardwick and his wife, Kendall, plus local and civic leaders and volunteers.
Volunteers unload wreaths at St. Augustine National Cemetery on Saturday for the Wreaths Across America ceremony.
County Commission Chair Krista Joseph and Commissioners Sarah Arnold, Christian Whitehurst and Ann Taylor were also in attendance.
Retired Air Force Lt. Col. William Dudley, chairman of the Veterans Council of St. Johns County, served as master of ceremony.
Wreaths Across America 2024 at St. Augustine’s National Cemetery
The ceremonial protocol of placing wreaths began with the family members of those buried in the cemetery. Once the wreath was set, the family stepped back, recited the name on the headstone and said a prayer or offered words of gratitude. Veterans add a military salute once the wreath was placed.
Gold Star mothers went first.
Joseph, a Gold Star mom, expressed her gratitude to Dudley for allowing Gold Star Moms the privilege of placing wreaths before anyone.
“The gesture was kind and generous,” she said. “Dudley did a wonderful job leading the ceremony.”
Dudley said that although emotional, the ceremony focuses on pride, not sadness.
A Gold Star mother lays a wreath at St. Augustine National Cemetery on Saturday.
“Wreaths Across America not only honors our veterans on this hallowed ground, it impresses upon our youth the impotence of our mission to remember, honor, teach,” he told the St. Augustine Record. “This is an important lesson for veterans to pass on to today’s youth.”
According to Dudley, the Veterans Council has worked with the Wreaths Across America program for over a decade.
“The Veterans Council has avowed to assure every headstone in the St. Augustine National Cemetery would have a holiday wreath,” he said. “We have honored that commitment every year since assuming the task.”
Judge Howard McGillin Jr. from the Seventh Judicial Circuit served as keynote speaker. McGillin, who served in the U.S. Army for 24 years, presides over the Unified Family Court Division and Veterans Treatment Court at the Richard O. Watson Judicial Center in St. Augustine.
Participants salute during a wreath-laying ceremony at St. Augustine National Cemetery on Saturday.
“I commend Bill Dudley and the Veterans Council for once again hosting an event that reminds us to honor those who have served in our armed forces,” said Commissioner Whitehurst.”
Taylor described the event as powerful and emotional.
“Seeing each individual honored made it so special,” she said. “I felt such gratitude to those men and women who gave their lives for our freedoms.”
Arnold underscored how meaningful the event is nationwide.
“It was an honor to attend Wreaths Across America in St. Augustine and even more meaningful knowing that at exactly the same time my family and I were placing wreaths in St. Augustine, a wreath was being placed on my grandfather’s headstone in Arlington National Cemetery,” she said.
This article originally appeared on St. Augustine Record: St. Augustine honors veterans on Wreaths Across America Day 2024
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Publish date : 2024-12-17 07:04:00
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