Patriotism is Alive and Well this Holiday Season!

On Tuesday, I enjoyed the chance to meet those aboard one of the convoys of tractor trailers bringing more than 400,000 wreaths to Arlington National Cemetery all the way from Maine. It was fun to connect with Maine State Regent Beverly Robbins, who was traveling with the group, as well as several other Daughters onboard. All across America, our local chapters were waiting for convoys like this one to bring their wreaths for local cemeteries – momentum was clearly building for Saturday. At the local stop at a high school near my home in New York, hundreds of students lined the hallways and chanted “U.S.A.” -- applauding wildly as the truckers and other volunteers were escorted to the theater for a presentation that included remarks and featured local students whose parents are currently deployed.

On Friday evening, I was provided the privilege of not only attending the Annual Washington D.C. Wreaths Reception and Dinner, held in Arlington, Virginia, and sponsored by WWA (read more about the organization here), but also given the honor of addressing the assembly to tell them a little bit about DAR and to thank all those gathered for their devotion to our nation’s finest. You may read my remarks here.

During the course of my administration, we have sponsored the WAA Mobile Education Exhibit that travels the country year round; the three-year commitment has totaled $45,000 and was made possible by your generous support of our DAR Friends of Veterans Fund. It was particularly joyous to reconnect on Friday night with Karen and Morrill Worcester, the Maine couple who founded WAA three decades ago and who our National Society honored 25 years ago for what was then a nascent movement to honor our deceased veterans at a relatively small number of cemeteries. They have now grown to more than 2,500 cemeteries and more than 2 million wreaths!

Early the next morning, Mrs. West, Mrs. Wood and I arrived at Arlington National Cemetery as three of more than 55,000 volunteers who would place a combined 400,000 wreaths throughout this sacred place. We made our way to Section One, where 11 Revolutionary War soldiers, who were re-interred after the founding of the cemetery, to place our wreaths on their final resting places (including one of Mrs. West’s ancestors). Nearby, we honored the grave of Dr. Anita Newcomb McGee, a Daughter who founded the Army Nurse Corps during the Spanish American War and served as our first Librarian General. I was also able to lay a wreath at the adjacent grave of Frances Terry, she served as New York State Regent from 1904 to 1906 and who rests beside her husband, a U.S. Army Surgeon.

In particular, it was a special privilege to welcome Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro to the event, as well as other leadership from the U.S. Navy – and, of course, Santa himself. In addition to holiday favorites such as “We Need a Little Christmas” and “Sleigh Ride,” the concert was highlighted by video messages from U.S. Sailors stationed all over the globe, reflecting on their holidays traditions and sharing greetings to their loved ones back home. Enjoy a small snippet of the concert’s finale here.

Please visit (and follow) my DAR President General’s Facebook Page to see many more photographs and videos of these events and others throughout my term in office. (Despite the pandemic, there is so much vibrancy throughout our National Society, and highlights of that engaged participation and other information can often be found on that page.)