A tractor trailer rolled into town this morning, delivering 1,000-plus pine wreaths to Bridgeport Cemetery. The wreaths – 1,262, to be exact – will be placed on the graves of veterans at Bridgeport Cemetery this Saturday.
Wreaths Across America Team Bridgeport Organizer Christa Parker and her team of assistants were ready and waiting for the truck’s arrival.
“We got up here about 9:45 a.m. and the truck came a little after 10 because the driver ran into bad weather on I-68 and had to slow down,” Parker said.
“(Assistant Police Chief) Randy Hartley escorted him from behind and we had a VIPs unit in the front – both with their lights on and escorting the truck from Exit 125.”
The wreaths - each topped with a red bow - were packed in 141 boxes. An ample crew of volunteers was on hand to assist with unloading.
“We had four soldiers, our awesome cemetery grounds keepers, guys from
Bridgeport Public Works and Don and Joe of Bridgeport Parks and Recreation, (Assistant City Manager) Jimmy Smith and (Bridgeport Cemetery Office Administrator) Tricia Bombardiere and a couple of other volunteers,” Parker said. “We had plenty of help and it didn’t take us long to unload the truck.”
The wreaths will be stored in the cemetery garage until Saturday’s ceremony which begins at 12 noon sharp, beginning with a blessing of the wreaths by Rev. Robin Ray and singing of The National Anthem by Emma Guthall of South Harrison High School. Serving as emcee will be Brad Ford and playing Taps will be Bridgeport High School Drum Major Joplin Kehrer. The Harrison County Honor Guard is also scheduled to participate, as is a local troop of Boy Scouts. The highlight, of course, is the laying of wreaths on the military gravesites.
“All grave specific names will be called off. We have 86 veterans' names," Parker said.
A soldier will present each of those families with a wreath for them to lay on their veterans’ grave, she said.
Family Readiness Group will provide coffee, hot chocolate and snacks for a donation to their organization. Team Bridgeport’s traveling Veteran Tree and Soldier Chest – promotional tools used throughout the year – will be set up at the ceremony, which will take place at the second round of the cemetery, near the top of the hill.
Following the retiring of the colors and the placement of wreaths, the ceremony will move to Bridgeport Veterans Memorial on East Main Street.
"We have seven ceremonial wreaths - one representing each branch of the military and all with the American flag on them and we'll be taking them and placing them at the Veterans Memorial,"
Parker said. "People who drive by will be able to see those wreaths."
In addition to marking their calendars for the Dec. 16 ceremony, community members can help facilitate the event by placing survey flags on the veterans’ graves to help Team Bridgeport volunteers know where to place wreaths. Originally scheduled for today, that work will now take place
Anyone wishing to help can meet at the office of Bridgeport Cemetery at 1 p.m. Wednesday. The group will be working until about 3 p.m.
“Snow is being called and we need to get the flags down before the snow covers all the markers,” Parker said.
Parker said she is excited about this year's ceremony. Momentum is gaining and more people are becoming aware and getting on board to help with the project.
Last year was the first year for Bridgeport Cemetery’s participation as 1,086 wreaths were placed, all purchased by community and family members.
Parker’s goal continues. She hopes next year that enough wreaths purchased to place one on each of the 1,575 veteran gravesites.
A former resident of Bridgeport, Parker and her family launched Team Bridgeport and established the Wreaths Across America program at Bridgeport Cemetery following the death of the Parkers' son, Private First Class Garrett Craig Parker, a Bridgeport High School graduate, who died in a 2014 Memorial Day weekend motorcycle out of state and was buried at Bridgeport Cemetery.
Last year’s ceremony confirmed that Parker had done the right thing by bringing the program to Bridgeport.
“Watching the kids place the wreaths and the look in their eyes, one could tell that this act of love had a special meaning and that they knew the true reason as to why they were there,” she said.
Wreaths Across America takes place in more than 1,200 locations across the U.S., including the West Virginia National Cemetery in Grafton, where Parker was involved in 2015 before bringing the program to Bridgeport.
“All grave specific names will be called off and a soldier will present the family with a wreath for them to lay on their veterans’ grave,” Parker said.
Family Readiness Group will provide coffee, hot chocolate and snacks for a donation to their organization. Team Bridgeport’s traveling Veteran Tree and Soldier Chest – promotional tools used throughout the year – will be set up at the ceremony, which will take place at the second round of the cemetery, near the top of the hill.
In addition to marking their calendars for the Dec. 16 ceremony, community members can help facilitate the event by placing survey flags on the veterans’ graves to help Team Bridgeport volunteers know where to place wreaths. That work will take place Tues., Dec. 12. Anyone wishing to help can meet at the office of Bridgeport Cemetery at 1 p.m.
“That’s the plan because of the weather. Snow is being called and we need to get the flags down before the snow covers all the markers,” Parker said.
A former resident of Bridgeport, Parker and her family launched Team Bridgeport and established the Wreaths Across America program at Bridgeport Cemetery following the death of her son, Private First Class Garrett Craig Parker, a Bridgeport High School graduate, who died in a 2014 Memorial Day weekend motorcycle out of state and was buried at Bridgeport Cemetery.
Last year’s ceremony confirmed that Parker had done the right thing by bringing the program to Bridgeport.
“Watching the kids place the wreaths and the look in their eyes, one could tell that this act of love had a special meaning and that they knew the true reason as to why they were there,” she said.
Wreaths Across America takes place in more than 1,200 locations across the U.S., including the West Virginia National Cemetery in Grafton, where Parker was involved in 2015 before bringing the program to Bridgeport.
