Mark Wreaths Across America Day at Fort Ontario Dec. 14

by Contributor | December 11, 2024 7:58 am

OSWEGO COUNTY – Fort Ontario State Historic Site welcomes visitors to commemorate National Wreaths Across America (WAA) Day on Saturday, Dec. 14. The ceremony begins at noon in front of the enlisted men’s barracks inside the old stone fort, followed by a wreath-laying ceremony at the Post Cemetery.

Guest speakers for this year’s ceremony are keynote speaker Lieutenant Colonel Gregory V. Humble, Oswego Mayor Robert Corradino, Reverend William King, Syracuse Recruiting Battalion, Fort Ontario Historic Site Manager Matthew MacVittie, and WAA Location Coordinator Corey King.

After the speakers have concluded, the names of those interred in the Post Cemetery will be read by WAA Location Coordinator Corey King, WAA Co-Location Coordinator Howard King and Lt. Col. Humble.

Following the reading of the names, attendees will take part in the “Parade of Wreaths,” where they will escort the wreaths from inside Fort Ontario to the Post Cemetery, led by the Fort Ontario Guard.

The ceremony will formally conclude at the entrance to the Post Cemetery with closing statements by the location coordinator and co-location coordinator, followed by the benediction and lastly the sounding of “Taps” by Emily King.

National Wreaths Across America Day is a free, non-political, non-denominational community event open to all people. There is ample parking in the main lot at the front entrance, and visitors are advised to dress accordingly for the weather that day.

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. The organization’s mission, “Remember, Honor, Teach,” is carried out each year in part by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies at Arlington, as well as at thousands of veterans’ cemeteries across the U.S. and beyond.

Every December, thousands of wreaths are escorted from Columbia Falls, Maine to Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. for National Wreaths Across America Day by way of volunteer tractor trailer trucks. Along the way these trucks make dozens of stops, including at Fort Ontario. The goal for this organization is to lay a veteran’s wreath over every veteran’s grave in the country and abroad.

The Post Cemetery at Fort Ontario is the resting place for 77 soldiers as well as women and children of soldiers that served at Fort Ontario from 1759 through 1943.

For any updates on the program, follow the Wreaths Across America at the Fort Ontario Post Cemetery Facebook page @FortOntarioWAA.

Source URL: https://oswegocountytoday.com/community/mark-wreaths-across-america-day-at-fort-ontario-dec-14-2/

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