Local Civil Air Patrol Unit Seeks Sponsors For Wreath-Laying Salute

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - Members of Columbia Composite Squadron invite the public to sponsor remembrance wreaths for placement on the graves of veterans in December, to honor those who served our country as well as current military members.

Wreaths will be placed in Willamette National Cemetery on Dec. 11. The event begins at 1:00 pm with an indoor ceremony at Lincoln Memorial Chapel, 11801 SE Mt. Scott Blvd., where wreaths will be presented in a ceremony to honor each branch of the U.S. Military (Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard) and the Merchant Marines and those who were Prisoners of War or Missing in Action. At 2:30 pm, all the wreaths sponsored in northwest Oregon will be placed on graves in Section S at Willamette National Cemetery 11800 SE Mt. Scott Blvd.

There are Wreaths Across America ceremonies coordinated by Civil Air Patrol at Eagle Point National Cemetery, Roseburg National Cemetery and in Bend at Deschutes Memorial Gardens. Columbia Composite Squadron has invited CAP units from Aurora, Washington County, Salem, Tillamook, and Eugene to join in at Willamette National. Other youth groups and adult organizations are welcome.

Wreaths Across America occurs at National Cemeteries across the United States and in many other locations throughout the world. As a key partner in Wreaths Across America for four Decembers now, the Civil Air Patrol has adorned memorials and veterans' graves with evergreen wreaths to make sure the sacrifices of our nation's soldiers are not forgotten.

Last year, members of the public sponsored placement of more than 100,000 wreaths on veterans' graves across the U.S., an increase of nearly 70,000 wreaths from the previous year.

Worcester Wreath Co., which originated the wreath laying by Civil Air Patrol and others at Arlington National Cemetery near the nation's capital, donated more than 17,000 wreaths for the remembrances, 10,000 of which will be placed at Arlington National Cemetery. CAP units lead almost half of 372 observances and participated with other color and honor guards at many additional locations, including Arlington National Cemetery.

For more information on how to sponsor wreaths in your area, contact 1st Lt Carol Moseley 503-761-7183 or by email at onedragondancer@gmail.com. Wreaths can be sponsored by individuals, families and businesses for a donation of $15.00 each.

Wreaths Across America began in 2006 as an offshoot of the Arlington National Cemetery wreath project, which was started in 1992 with the annual placement of wreaths donated by Worcester Wreath Co. Wreaths Across America ceremonies were conducted largely by CAP wings and with the help of veterans' organizations; private citizens; the Maine State Society of Washington, D.C., which annually assists with the laying of wreaths at Arlington; and the Patriot Guard Riders. Visit www.wreathsacrossamerica.org for more information about Wreaths Across America and participating locations.

Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with more than 60,000 members nationwide. CAP performs 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and was credited by the AFRCC with saving an average of 80 lives per year (100-plus in FY 2010). Its volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and counter-drug missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to the more than 22,000 young people currently participating in CAP cadet programs. CAP has been performing missions for America for almost 69 years (since December 1941). For more information on CAP, please visit www.gocivilairpatrol.com.

News Release from: Oregon Civil Air Patrol