“We have all of these freedoms thanks to the people who have paid the ultimate sacrifice, and it is important that we take a minute or two to say, ‘Thank you.’”
Such were the words of Peter Eschbach, a U.S. Army veteran and graduate of the United States Military Academy, West Point, N.Y., during the Wreaths Across America event held Dec. 16 in Mays Landing.
PHOTO GALLERY: Wreaths Across America
About 200 people gathered outside Saint Vincent de Paul Church for a welcome ceremony that included Hamilton Township Mayor Carl Pitale and other local dignitaries, members of the Atlantic County Institute of Technology’s Air Force ROTC, students from Saint Vincent de Paul Regional School and Oakcrest High School, the VFW Post 220 Honor Guard, Scout Troop 452, and the Atlantic County Composite Squadron Civil Air Patrol.
Eschbach, of Saint Vincent de Paul Parish and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 220, coordinated the event, with assistance from the Diocese’s South Jersey Catholic Cemeteries, that saw the attendees lay more than 500 wreaths on gravestones in Holy Cross Cemetery that bore the marker of a veteran, many that date back to World War I.
In his remarks before the attendees, parish pastor Father John March, a Marine and graduate of the United States Naval Academy, thanked all for attending and noted that Saint John Paul II, during his papacy, said that patriotism is divined from the fourth commandment – to honor one’s father and mother – because it is one’s country that provides the basic liberties to its people, like a parent, and it is those who serve that protect those liberties.
Pointing toward the nearby cemetery and the graves of those who served, he said, “We stand today on the shoulders of those who came before us. We look to the future through our young people here today, the ROTC, the Civil Air Patrol, the Scouts, our schoolchildren.”
Before the event, Father March reflected on how the wreaths were delivered by a Marine veteran.
“I asked him his favorite thing about being in the Marine Corps. He said, ‘the camaraderie,’” Father March recalled, saying he agrees. “One thing that excites me about the wreath-laying is that the camaraderie with our fallen veterans continues as we remember them and their sacrificial service.”
Wreaths Across America is a nonprofit organization with the mission to “Remember the Fallen. Honor those who serve. Teach the next generation the value of freedom.” Because of their efforts, hundreds of thousands of wreaths are laid every December on graves of those in the Armed Forces to remember their service and thank them for their sacrifice.
Mike Walsh, director of the diocesan Office of Communications, contributed to this report.
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