Wreath laying ceremony ahead of Wreaths Across America to honor fallen veterans

Salisbury, Md. – Wreathes Across America Day is on Saturday, where wreaths will be placed on gravesites across the country to honor and remember fallen service members. But on Monday, the truck drivers responsible for delivering those wreathes throughout the East Coast got a moment to honor their fellow veterans and fallen service members themselves.

Perdue hosted a wreath laying ceremony at the Wicomico County Youth and Civic Center where Perdue truck drivers laid wreaths inside the Midway Room at 11 a.m. The event featured the laying of seven ceremonial wreaths, the singing of “God Bless America” by Darren D. Hunt, an army veteran and truck driver, and the national anthem by another attendee, prayers for service members and their families and a video message explaining the origins of Wreaths Across America, which began in 2006 as a way to honor veterans during the holidays.

“As a veteran, when you get out of service, you still like to find ways to get back to the community,” Darren D. Hunt, a veteran and truck driver said. “We get good participation and just being with other veterans and letting the families know that they haven’t been forgotten, whether they’ve been gone for six months or 60 years.”

Veterans and organizers of the event said that it was a time to honor and show respect for the families of service members as well and every veteran, whether they served in combat or as an artist or dentist.

“Every little part that we do matters,” Derek Leitner, Perdue co-chair of Veterans Associate Resource Group said. “Whether it’s small or great or whether they gave the ultimate sacrifice or not. They need to be appreciated for the sacrifice that they did put forth when they stood up to serve.”

The truckers said that events like these help them feel connected to their community and allow them to give back.

“It’s like a big family,” Michael Griffin, a veteran and truck driver said. He said that all the truckers are a tight-knit community and even more so if they have served.

“They all get along. We all, like, we know each other, you know, wherever part of the country you’re from,” he said. “Most of the people that do this are veterans. And, it’s just another way we can give back and still continue to serve.”

Perdue’s partnership with Wreaths Across America is part of its Delivering Hope to Our Neighbors outreach in an effort to “improve quality of life and build strong relationships,” according to Perdue’s press release statement of the event. Perdue has supported Wreaths Across America for 17 years and, this year, Perdue said it will deliver more than 25,000 wreaths to cemeteries from New York to Florida on Saturday. In addition to the Wicomico War Veterans Memorial, deliveries will be made to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., United States Military Academy West Point Cemetery in New York, Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia and more.

The wreaths will be displayed at the Wicomico War Veterans Memorial in front of the Civic Center.