CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

Donations sought for veterans' wreaths

Commercial-News (Danville, IL) - 11/27/2014

Nov. 27--DANVILLE -- Hundreds of green wreaths with red ribbons on veterans' graves are a somber tribute to those who won't be around this holiday season.

"It's impressive," Jim Beebe said, referring to the sight of rows of wreaths at the tombstones.

Beebe, a member of the Danville Elks Lodge 332, and Tammy Williams, coordinator of the local Wreaths Across America program, are hoping to cover Danville National Cemetery with wreaths next month. At the minimum, they hope to get 300 wreaths.

A ceremony to place the wreaths will be at 11 a.m.Dec. 13 at the cemetery. Similar ceremonies will take place at the same time across the country. The theme is "Remember, Honor, Teach."

In the meantime, a drive is under way seeking donations to buy wreaths. People may make donations through Williams or the Elks, or through the national website.

Williams is passionate about the cause, and hopes people will attend the ceremony, even if they can't donate.

"It's one day, two hours out of our life, to show we remember, we care," she said. "At Christmas, we're spending time with family. But there are people who have a person (serviceman) missing."

She added, "Some can serve and some can't. For those who can't, we should be able to honor the ones who can."

Williams' husband, Keith, is a veteran, and her late friend, Kirk Melton, was a medic in the Army and is buried at the National Cemetery. One Christmas, Williams was visiting Melton's grave when she saw a few wreaths, but not many.

She found information about Wreaths Across America on Facebook and wanted to get involved.

About 300 wreaths were donated last year, Williams said, but she'd like to have more than that. The cemetery has 11,300 graves. A wreath also will be placed on the grave of Medal of Honor recipient Lt. Morton A. Read (Civil War).

People may buy a wreath and indicate it be placed on a particular person's grave. Wreaths will be delivered to the cemetery, not to people's homes.

An individual wreath costs $15; a family may buy four wreaths for $60; a small business, 10 wreaths at $150; or a corporate sponsorship, 100 wreaths or more at $15 each. Williams has tax receipts for people who donate, and she's especially interested in corporate sponsorships.

In past years, the local Wreaths Across America ceremony was coordinated by Danville Elks Lodge 332, which will continue to help out this year.

Beebe, chairman of the wreaths program through the Elks, said the lodge works with veterans' programs, including Wounded Warriors, homeless veterans and bingo at the Veterans Affairs Illiana Health Care System.

The Danville lodge and eight other Elks lodges in the district, from Paris to Bloomington, will make donations for wreaths.

People may order wreaths through the Elks lodge, making sure they note the honored veteran's name, date of death and grave location.

Like Williams, Beebe hopes people attend the ceremony. "I would encourage them to show up on the 13th," he said, "and then they can make a decision about next year."

Once people attend a ceremony, they can see the significance of it and may want to make a donation for next year's ceremony.

Williams noted that people also may volunteer to help.

"If they want to come out and help that day, the more hands, the better," she said.

A Girl Scout troop from Paris will help that day, as well as the Junior ROTC and the Patriot Guard.

The live wreaths will be on the graves for a month, and then removed.

___

(c)2014 the Commercial-News (Danville, Ill.)

Visit the Commercial-News (Danville, Ill.) at www.commercial-news.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC