The public is encouraged to attend the Wreaths Across America dedication ceremony to be held at noon on Saturday, Dec. 16, at Darien’s Spring Grove Veterans’ Cemetery.
Those attending early will be able to enjoy some seasonal music by the Coastal Chordsmen, a men’s a cappella chorus, who will also sing the National Anthem.
Wreaths placed on gravestones at the Veterans Cemetery, a part of Spring Grove Cemetery.
Many interested local residents are needed to help with the wreath placement this year. People are asked to arrive by 11:30 a.m. to prepare for the noon ceremony.
Local fundraisers have collected over 1,400 wreath sponsorships for Darien’s Spring Grove Cemetery this year. Darien’s wreath laying ceremony is conducted simultaneously with the wreath ceremony on the same day at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
According to local tallies, there are 2,184 veterans buried in the Darien cemetery, one of three designated official veterans’ cemeteries in the state of Connecticut. The other two are in Middletown and Rocky Hill.
A Local Effort
This year, members of Darien’s Monuments and Ceremonies Commission partnered with several Darien civic groups including the Darien VFW Post No. 6933, the Masonic Club of Darien, the DHS Support Our Soldiers club, and local Good Wife’s River Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Many Darien businesses and local citizens have also generously donated.
About Wreaths Across America
Wreaths Across America is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded to continue and expand the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery begun by Maine businessman Morrill Worcester in 1992.
In 2016, Wreaths Across America marked the 25th anniversary of the Worcester Wreath Company donating wreaths to the cemetery in Arlington.
The organization’s patriotic mission is to: Remember the fallen, Honor those who serve and their families and to Teach our children the value of freedom.
Each year in December, WAA coordinates wreath-laying ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery, as well as at hundreds of veterans’ cemeteries and other locations in all 50 states and beyond.