WILTON — Joe Ross of Wilton will join a convoy of trucks Sunday bound for Arlington National Cemetery on his second trip as a volunteer with Wreaths Across America.

The mission to deliver wreaths to veteran graves in every state includes 55 tractor-trailers filled with more than 200,000 Maine-made Christmas wreaths from a small town in Washington County.

Ross, who is a disabled Vietnam Veteran with two Purple Hearts, said, “It’s up to people like me to do for those who can’t. At least I can walk and talk.”

He became involved through the Patriot Guide Riders, a motorcycle/motor vehicle group, that escorts the convoy. He also wanted people from Western Maine to become involved.

Nancy Chase, Farmington’s Emblem Club Americanism chair, will be with Ross along with other disabled veterans. She’s going on her own but representing the club’s committee that participates in flag folding, military funerals and veteran services, she said.

It will take almost a week for the convoy, which will consist of 50 to 300 vehicles, to go from Harrington, Maine, to Arlington, Va., because they’ll stop to speak to veterans groups, schools and even veterans sitting by the road, Ross said. Four trucks head for Washington while the others strike out for other states. The George Washington Bridge shuts down for them.

Ross wants to let veterans and their families know that someone cares. He’s not alone.

For 19 years, Morrill Worcester of Worcester Wreath Co. in Harrington has continued a tradition of laying wreaths to honor veterans during the holiday season.

Left with extra wreaths at the end of the season in 1992, he remembered a boyhood trip to Washington and Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia and donated 5,000 wreaths to be placed at soldier headstones.

From there the program has grown into a national movement and the organization, Wreaths Across America, has exploded over the past five years, Ross said.

Worcester continues to donate 20,000 wreaths but the program now provides wreaths for every state veteran cemetery and 25 foreign cemeteries, Ross said.

A large ceremony in Arlington along with simultaneous ceremonies around the world will take place at noon on Dec. 11 when a large wreath is placed at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The convoy led by a Maine State Trooper is due to arrive in Washington on Friday night. Early Saturday morning, numerous volunteers including school children from across the nation will start laying wreaths with red bows against the white stones of veterans, former presidents and some people lost on Sept. 11, 2001, he said.

“It’s very emotional,” he said of the effort to fulfill the organization’s mission, to remember, honor and teach.

The school children, each wearing a red hat, became involved when a history lesson for a Skowhegan class culminated with a trip to Washington. The next year students from Nevada participated and now it’s children from all over the country combining history with patriotism and Americanism lessons.

“It’s quite a site to see those red hats bouncing across Arlington,” Ross said. 

As Saturday winds down, Ross, on his own, will lay a wreath made by Judy Smith of East Dixfield at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to remember the brothers he served with, he said.

No stranger to Washington, Ross served with the White House Communications Agency during President Ronald Reagan’s years. Since his first trip with Wreaths Across America, he has spent time fundraising to help pay for wreaths, and teaching others about the organization. Each volunteer pays their own expenses, nearly $1,000 over the week for meals, lodging and gas.

When he returns, he’ll be ready to start fundraising for wreaths for next year. He’s available to provide presentations to groups and schools to help others learn about the program, he said.

More information is available at www.wreathsacrossamerica.org

[email protected]