Wreaths Across America effort expands through Westmoreland County

Vietnam veteran Tim Brennan was among the few dozen volunteers who turned out on Dec. 19, 2020 — after a blizzard dumped 9 inches of snow on the region — to lay wreaths on 660 veteran grave sites in two Jeannette cemeteries in the inaugural Wreaths Across America event held locally.

So when organizers Frank and Linda Drury announced last summer they were expanding — honoring more than 1,700 veterans in six area cemeteries this year as part of the national non-profit’s program — Brennan, who is commander of the Jeannette Combined Honor Guard, admits being skeptical.

“I said “Frank, you and Linda are nuts!,” Brennan laughed.

Well, after six cemeteries and Maine Balsam wreaths delivered to 1,700 grave sites in the Irwin, Jeannette and Penn Township area cemeteries by early Saturday afternoon, Brennan is a believer.

“The amount of volunteer work Frank and Linda put in — even going out beforehand identifying the veteran grave sites, the fundraising, etc. — is just tremendous,” Brennan said.

Beginning at 8 a.m., the Drurys said, some 215 wreaths were delivered to 215 grave sites in St. Boniface Cemetery in Penn Township; 28 to St. Michael’s Cemetery in Jeannette; 25 to St Cyril & Methodious Cemetery; 125 to Jeannette Catholic Cemetery; and 643 to Jeannette Memorial Park — all in Penn Township; and 712 to Sacred Heart Cemetery, off Route 30 in Hempfield.

The Drurys weren’t sure what to expect with a drenching rainstorm and temperatures in the low 40s damped the first three wreath deliveries.

But Frank Drury, U.S. Navy Seabee during Operation Desert Storm, admitted he was heartened, when they pulled in and found more than 30 volunteers waiting to help deliver the wreaths.

“It was just amazing,” he said.

By the time of the noon event at Jeannette Memorial Park, that number has swelled to nearly 200 wreath-laying volunteers, who had to find parking outside the cemetery along the 1100 block of Altman Road.

Linda Drury, who pointed out that her father and father-in-law are veterans, said she proposed the idea last year not only to honor veterans, “but also as a way to bring the community together.”

Krista and Steve Boss of Penn Township said their son, Josh, 14, was participating in the wreath laying as a community service portion of a confirmation candidate at St. Boniface parish. Josh is a student at Penn Middle School.

The couple also brought along 9-year-old daughter, Alyssa, to honor veterans.

“This turnout is really impressive,” Krista Boss said. “It’s important to respect what veterans have done for all of us.”

Other commemorations

A separate ceremony was also held Saturday at Union Cemetery on Bridge Street in Irwin, and then volunteers laid wreaths in four nearby cemeteries in Irwin and North Huntingdon.

Green wreaths with red bows were also placed at each of the 14,500 veterans graves at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies in Cecil, Washington County, this weekend.

Wreaths Across America was begun by Maine businessman Morrill Worcester in 1992. He owns Worcester Wreath Co. of Harrington, Maine. He donated extra wreaths to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

Each wreath costs $15.

Drury said the Jeannette VFW 8240 is collecting for the 2022 local Wreaths Across America project. Donations can be sent to Jeannette VFW 8240, 111 S. Fourth St., Jeannette Pa. 15644.