Local Missouri Civil Air Patrol units seek sponsors for wreath-laying salute to veterans at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery

Members of Missouri Wing Civil Air Patrol’s units throughout the greater St. Louis area invite the public to sponsor remembrance wreaths for placement on the graves of veterans on Dec. 14 at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery to honor those who served the U.S. as well as current military members. Sponsors can even designate where the wreaths will be laid in the local community.

The CAP squadrons’ efforts coincide with Wreath Across America tributes occurring simultaneously across the nation, including Arlington National Cemetery, where the initiative began 21 years ago with the placement of 5,000 wreaths donated by Morrell Worcester, owner of Harrington, Maine’s Worcester Wreath Co. In 2006, Worcester and his family formed Wreaths Across America, a nonprofit initiative that recognizes the courage and sacrifices of U.S. veterans by placing wreaths on the graves of the fallen during the year-end holiday season.

As a major partner in Wreaths Across America for eight Decembers now, CAP has adorned memorials and veterans’ graves with evergreen wreaths to make sure the sacrifices of the nation’s soldiers are not forgotten. Last year, members of the public sponsored the placement of more than 400,000 wreaths at 815 cemetery or memorial sites across the U.S. and abroad. More than 600 CAP squadrons participated in last year’s Wreaths Across America ceremonies, in which wreaths were placed at cemeteries and memorials in all 50 states, as well as many locations overseas. 

For more information on how to sponsor wreaths for Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, please go to www.wreathsacrossamerica.org or call 877-385-9504.  Wreath sponsorship starts at $15.00.  Individual, family and corporate sponsorships are available.  When ordering wreaths please use group identification number “MOCAP098” and location identification code “MOJBNS”.  Orders received by Monday, December 2, 2013, will be honored.

Wreaths Across America ceremonies are conducted largely by CAP wings and squadrons 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.

The Missouri Wing of the Civil Air Patrol is composed of over 1,000 members organized in almost forty units located throughout the state.  The wing conducted ten search and rescue missions, as well as six other state support missions, in 2012 and was credited with eight finds.

Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with nearly 61,000 members nationwide, operating a fleet of 550 aircraft. CAP, in its Air Force auxiliary role, performs 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and is credited by the AFRCC with saving an average of 80 lives annually. Its unpaid professionals also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to more than 26,000 young people currently participating in the CAP cadet programs. CAP received the World Peace Prize in 2011 and has been performing missions for America for 72 years.

For more information on Civil Air Patrol, visit www.gocivilairpatrol.com, www.capvolunteernow.com, or www.mowgcap.us (Missouri Wing website).

Point of Contact: Lt. Col. David A. Miller, CAP, wreaths.stlouis@gmail.com.