Honoring Those Who Gave All

The service and sacrifice of America’s military veterans who have passed away was commemorated with solemn reverence at the Wreaths Across America ceremony held at Marco Island Cemetery. 

Marco Island’s chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and the community’s American Legion Post 404 joined forces for the local observance of the national program that sees friends and family members place remembrance wreaths on the graves of veterans, after first saying the loved one’s name aloud. 

DAR is a nationwide sponsor of Wreaths Across America, which is held annually on the second or third Saturday of December. This was the fourth year Marco’s DAR chapter and the American Legion post joined forces for the ceremony, which honors the roughly 160 military veterans, dating back to the Civil War, who are buried at the cemetery.

“On behalf of the Marco Island chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, thank you all for joining us here today,” proclaimed mistress of ceremonies Sally Snyder, regent of Marco’s DAR chapter, in greeting attendees on the crisp, bright morning. “We are one of thousands of memorial sites across the country, at sea and abroad, gathered today to remember the fallen, honor those who serve and teach our children the value of freedom.” 

The roughly one-hour-long ceremony included: 

• The National Anthem sung by Tica Barrett of New Life Community Church.

• An invocation by New Life Community Church’s Rev. Thomas McCulley.

• Laying wreaths representing each of America’s military branches, including the Coast Guard and the newest branch, the Space Force, on the cemetery’s obelisk honoring the military.

• A flyover by pilots CPT Bob Boone and 2LT John Gannatti of the Marco Island Civil Air Patrol Squadron.

• Emily Savage led attendees in a stirring rendition of “God Bless America.” 

• TAPS was played as the dismissal by Marco resident Rex De Jaager.

• An acknowledgment of students at St Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic school and their marketing/community director, Gina Groch, who raised money to contribute 25 wreaths. 

Pat Hancock, a Marco DAR Wreaths Across America committee member, provided a glimpse into the program’s background. 

She said the wreaths originated in Bangor, Maine, where the program began in 1992. That year, the owner of a wreath company there found himself with a surplus, so he contacted Arlington Cemetery and asked whether they could be used to honor veterans there. The offer was accepted and from that humble start, the program has exploded to the point where approximately 2.4 million wreaths have been placed, nationwide and abroad, over the last 30 years.

During his invocation, McCulley gave thanks that “the answer to the last question of our national anthem is a ‘Yes, it does still wave.’ The people who gave their lives in that era are long gone. But they set a pattern that has been followed. We’re surrounded by the graves of women and men who signed up. They were willing to lay down their lives for their greater love of this homeland.” 

“We’re mindful of not just those we’ve lost, we’re mindful of the survivors, their families, the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, some who only have photos to look at, family stories to hear about,” McCulley said. “Let the legacy continue.”

McCulley closed by praying that, “all of us, the living, may we follow your selfless example of those whose lives we honor today, who have fallen, and make our choices to live in freedom, to support freedom of speech, freedom of religion, family values. We pray that You would touch every one of our hearts so that this is not just a looking backward, but also building upon the legacies of those we honor.”