Bolton holds inaugural Wreaths Across America ceremony; volunteers to place wreaths on 150 veterans' graves

Volunteers and family members gathered in Bolton, Connecticut, for the town's first Wreaths Across America ceremony, where organizers said they would place wreaths on 150 veterans' graves.

"This is our first ceremony for Wreaths Across America," said Jennifer Baum, one of the event hosts, as she introduced co-host Janet Assar and the program for the day. Organizers opened the ceremony with the pledge of allegiance, a moment of silence and a performance by the high school chorus.

Organizers presented a short program explaining the event's purpose — "remember, teach, and honor" — and the volunteer plan for the cemetery. Guest speaker Pamela Sawyer recounted family military service and the growth of Wreaths Across America from a small effort at Arlington National Cemetery to a national program. "Wreaths Across America started as a very humble, quiet little idea to put wreaths out in Arlington National Cemetery," Sawyer said, describing both the personal and national significance of the observance.

A poem dedicated to a local woman veteran was read by Ernest Richardson and his spouse, followed by the organizers' acknowledgment of 32 veterans buried in Coryville Cemetery that the program hopes to include in future ceremonies. Organizers then read aloud a list of local veterans' names as part of the remembrance.

Families were called forward to present branch-specific wreaths: the Miller and Walsh families for the Army; the Morianis family for the Marine Corps; the Scorso family for the Navy; Daniel Sicard for the Air Force; the Balm family for the Space Force; the Price family for the Coast Guard; the Poggioli family for the Merchant Marines; and Donald Assard for POWs/MIA. Organizers invited those families for a group photo after the presentations.

Volunteers were instructed on how to place the wreaths: pick up wreaths on the tarp, place the wreath with the bow in the upper-left corner of the headstone, say the veteran's name and keep the attached tag as a memento that reads, "today I placed a wreath on the grave of an American hero." Organizers encouraged volunteers to take two wreaths if they were placing more than one and to place wreaths where flat markers were present when they did not know a specific veteran.

The ceremony concluded with brief thanks and acknowledgments. Volunteers and attendees then moved to place wreaths across the cemetery grounds.