Morrill Worcester of Harrington
In December 1992, in Harrington, Maine, when wreath maker Morrill Worcester found himself with a surplus of 5,000 wreaths during the holiday season. Worcester saw the surplus as an opportunity to pay tribute to our country’s veterans and, with the help of Maine Senator Olympia Snowe, arranged for the wreaths to be placed at Arlington National Cemetery. This annual tribute to our country’s veterans has continued ever since, touching the lives of millions of veterans’ families and volunteers and growing in scope through the years.
A Boyhood Memory
In 1992, Mr. Worcester found a surplus of wreaths nearing the end of the holiday season. Remembering his boyhood experience at Arlington, Worcester realized he had an opportunity to honor our country’s veterans. With the aid of former Maine Senator Olympia Snowe, arrangements were made for the wreaths to be placed at Arlington in one of the older sections of the cemetery that had been receiving fewer visitors with each passing year.
REMEMBER. HONOR. TEACH.
Fast-forward to 2021, Wreaths Across America and its national network of volunteers placed 2.4 million veterans’ wreaths at 3,137 participating locations in the United States and beyond last December. This was accomplished with help from some two million volunteers across the country, a third of which were children.
Wreaths Across America would not be successful without the help of volunteers, active organizations, and the generosity of the trucking industry, which offer invaluable support to WAA’s mission to remember the men and women who served our country, honor our military and their families and teach our children about our freedom and those who protect it.