Recently, several Veterans visited my morning talk show. Three of them are a part of the organization Veteran Mentors of Maine. Two of the gentlemen, one a Vietnam Veteran, the other, a Veteran of Operation Desert Storm, had recently returned from Arlington National Cemetery where they participated in the laying of wreaths with Wreaths Across America. This year, around the globe, over 2.2 million wreaths were laid on Veterans’ graves at over 2,000 Veteran cemeteries.
In 1992, Morrill Worcester, a humble wreath-maker from Downeast Maine, donated 5,000 wreaths to be placed on Veterans’ graves at Arlington National Cemetery. Morrill and 12 others laid the wreaths that first year.
In 2019, an estimated 60,000 people joined Morrill Worcester and the Wreaths Across America family at Arlington to lay wreaths.
Five years ago, I wrote a book about Wreaths Across America. It is titled, Every Stone Has a Story. On the day the Veterans visited my talk show, we spent quite a bit of time talking about Arlington. I am sharing this chapter of my book about Arlington National Cemetery to honor those whose lives have been laid to rest at Arlington and to offer a little history of the most sacred land on American soil.
Arlington National Cemetery
When most Americans think of Arlington National Cemetery, they think of the final resting place of many of our nation’s heroes. What they may not know is the unique history of this sacred ground and how it became the solemn resting place for America’s fallen.
Most of us know President George Washington had no direct descendants. His wife, Martha, was a widow when they married, and she had two young children.
George Washington Parke Custis, son of John Parke Custis, was President Washington’s step grandchild, and he constructed the Arlington House on an 1,100-acre plot of land as a memorial to George Washington. The property was not originally intended to be a cemetery.
As the first phase of the Arlington House was built, George and his wife moved into the home. They lived there the rest of their lives and are buried on the property. George and his wife Mary had a child in the 1830s, Mary Anna Randolph Custis.
She inherited the property from her parents with a condition: she could live there her whole life, but she could not sell the property. Mary Anna married Robert E. Lee, a West Point graduate who was also a distant cousin. They lived at Arlington House together. Despite a legend to the contrary, Robert E. Lee never owned the Arlington House, but he did have it restored to its original beauty after the deaths of his in-laws.
As the Civil War broke out in 1861, Lee refused President Lincoln’s offer to command the Northern Army and chose to side with his home state of Virginia and the south.
The 1,100-acre property was taken by the federal government and eventually sold at a tax auction when Mary Anna didn’t show up in person to pay the taxes.
The property was purchased by a tax commissioner for use by the government and the military in January 1864. Brig. Gen. Montgomery C. Meigs decided the property’s best use would be as a military cemetery, and he dedicated it in June 1864. He also wanted to make sure that, should General Lee and family want to return to the property, it would not be a livable space.
Pvt. William Henry Christman of the 67th Pennsylvania Infantry was the first military service man to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery on May 13, 1864.
Since that time, brave men and women have found their final resting place on this beautiful piece of land that overlooks, in an almost protective manner, Washington, D.C.
When Morrill first began bringing wreaths to Arlington, there were only about a dozen people involved. Since Wreaths Across America began, the number of people who gather on wreath-laying Saturday now numbers in the thousands. They come from all walks of life. They come from all parts of the country. They come to pay their respects to the honored dead.
That Saturday (either the second or third Saturday in December) is “Wreaths Across America Day” as designated by the United States Congress. The tractor-trailers are carefully brought into the cemetery and parked in a precise manner.
In 2014, an estimated 35,000 people gathered at Arlington for the ceremony.
According to the US Department of Defense website, Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Bryan Battaglia, the senior enlisted advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, offered the following remarks during the ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in 2014:
“We’re grateful for the sacrifice, bravery, courage and tenacity of members of our armed forces who currently serve in harm’s way; we’re grateful for the freedoms that we have as Americans.”
Battaglia also explained what the diverse and robust turnout means to the military and the nation.
It means the world; we are so fortunate to have not just a great community — but a great society that would come out here in droves to honor our veterans,” Battaglia said.
As for the new generation, Battaglia said the event’s 2014 theme “Remember, Honor, Teach” personifies that message.
“Our youth are learning some valuable lessons about how great our country really is and how we as an armed forces respect and honor both our wounded and our killed in action. When these kids are grown up, they too will be bringing their children and grandchildren our here as well — it’s a tradition the Worcesters started, and it’s long-lasting.”
One of the 35,000 plus who made the trip to Arlington was Portland, Maine Police Officer Kevin Haley, who has made the trip several times to help lay the wreaths. The place has special meaning for him.
“My brother, William (Billy) Haley is buried at Arlington,” he said. “He served our nation in the United States Air Force from 1972 to 1996. He rose to the rank of E-9 Chief Master Sergeant.
My brother Patrick, who also served in the Air Force from 1984 to 2004, is the one who told me about Wreaths Across America. It has meant so much to be able to honor and remember my brother and so many others like him.
I typically fly down on Friday and then go into Arlington early on Saturday morning. The last several years, I have arranged for about 300 people each year to come down and be a part of this. We make all their plans, get their accommodations and arrange any tours of the historic areas while they are in Washington, D.C.
Sunday morning, after all the wreaths are laid, is my favorite time at Arlington National Cemetery. You go back, and it is very intimate. You witness the labor of love and get to see all the various angles and majesty of it all.”
What was once intended to be a memorial to our first president has become our nation’s memorial to our fallen. Regardless of rank or branch of service, whether known to the world or known only to their family, America’s heroes are not forgotten here at Arlington.
“It makes me very proud to be standing shoulder to shoulder with Maine Governor Paul LePage and first lady Ann LePage along with all the Maine Law Enforcement community as we lay a wreath at the USS Maine,” Haley said. “It makes me proud as a human being.
In 2014, my family was given an incredible privilege. My wife, Miriam, our 15-year-old daughter, Emily, and our 12-year-old son, William, named after his uncle who is buried here, laid a wreath at the grave of President John F. Kennedy. Kennedy not only gave his life to his country as our president, he was also a World War II veteran. It was an amazing teaching moment for our children.
What’s really powerful for me is for my family to experience all the emotions at my brother’s gravestone with my son saluting his namesake. My family has been able to join me twice at Arlington. It is such an honor and a blessing for us.”
Ray Richardson is the host of the Ray Richardson Show on WLOB Radio. He has authored three books, his new book, Truth About Trump is on Pre-sale now, written a newspaper column for over a decade and is a contributor to Richardson Magazine.
Ray lives with his wife of 34 years, Dee Dee, in Westbrook Maine. They have four grown children (8 when you count the spouses), and blessed with one granddaughter.
