PARIS — Officials with Wreaths Across America and its founder, the Worcester Wreath Co. in Harrington, thanked 75 veterans housed in the Maine Veterans’ Home with a large wreath early Saturday afternoon.
Representatives of three of the five original members of the Western Maine Veterans Advisory Committee received smaller wreaths.
An administrative mix-up delayed the arrival of wreaths for representatives of the other two members, who were acknowledged, Maine Veterans’ Home Administrator Joel Dutton told the gathering of about 25 people.
Those recognized were Onni Raasumaa of the South Paris VFW Post 9787, Jason Turgeon of the American Legion Post 112 in Oxford, Joe Bernard and Eleanor Heidrich of the Western Maine Marine Corps League Detachment, Ken Dullea of American Legion Post 82 in Norway and George Brown of American Legion Post 72 in South Paris.
The five representatives and Dutton also received Wreaths Across America pins from Patriot Guard Riders John and Bunny O’Leary of Norway. The O’Learys are co-coordinators of the Wreaths Across America escort from Maine to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va.
“We certainly like to have the Wreaths Across America stop by every year and see us on the way to Arlington,” Dutton said after the ceremony.
“It means a lot to our veterans who live here, who ought to be recognized this time of year,” he said.
Bunny O’Leary said Saturday’s visit and ceremony at the Maine Veterans’ Home was the second to last of six such stops in Maine for Wreaths Across America. The entourage heads for Virginia on Sunday, Dec. 5, to place 20,000 wreaths on graves at Arlington National Cemetery on Saturday, Dec. 11.
A wreath will also be placed at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Beginning on Veterans Day, the group visited a veterans’ home in Bangor and presented wreaths and pins. Other stops included veterans’ homes in Caribou, Scarborough and Augusta.
Bunny O’Leary said the last stop in Maine will be on Dec. 3 in Machias.
Overall, 250,000 wreaths from the Worcester Wreath Co. will be delivered at 505 locations across the country and offshore by tractor-trailers and drivers donated by Walmart for Wreaths Across America, she said.
Among the locations this year are three Sept. 11 memorial sites and Pearl Harbor.
The O’Learys have two sons serving in the U.S. Air Force, one of whom is in Iraq. The other is with a National Guard unit in South Portland.
That’s why Bunny O’Leary said participating in the ceremonies and escorting Wreaths Across America to veterans means more than simply bringing recognition.
“This has to be done from your heart,” she said.
“The bottom line is that young men and women signed that dotted line to make the ultimate sacrifice for us, and I’m thanking them for what they’ve done, and every time we do a wreath presentation or ceremony, it’s more veterans getting recognized for their service,” she said.
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- Bunny O’Leary, left, of Norway and Lil Charron of Arundel gather wreaths at the Maine Veterans’ Home in South Paris prior to the start of the Wreaths Across America ceremony on Saturday. O’Leary and the Patriot Guard Riders presented wreaths on behalf of Wreaths Across America. She and her husband, John, coordinate the wreaths’ escort from Maine to Arlington National Cemetery.
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