Live With Purpose Wreaths across America Rehoboth Village Cemetery December 14, 2024

Local Wreaths Across America volunteers are working hard to ensure that all veterans laid to rest at the Rehoboth Village Cemetery are honored this December as part of National Wreaths Across America Day – Saturday, December 14, 2024. This is first year that the cemetery will participate in the national program and will join more than 4,200 participating locations, placing more than 3 million wreaths for interred veterans.

In preparation for this annual event, “Poppy’s Crew”, the local founding sponsorship group, is inviting the community to help honor all 480 veterans laid to rest at the Rehoboth Village Cemetery. You can sponsor a wreath for $17 today by scanning the QR code or at their website: www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/NH0043P . Opportunities to volunteer, including assistance with the ceremony and laying wreaths at gravesites, will be made available as December 14th approaches.

As part of their fundraising campaign, Poppy’s crew is running a “Flag a Friend” event, in which, with a $17 sponsorship and by emailing waapoppyscrew@gmail.com  individuals can request to have Poppy’s Crew “Flag” a member of the community. They will place flags and a sign showing the Support of Veterans in the yard of the recipient. The recipient can then donate to have the flags removed, or better – pass it on to another family member or friend. Just recently, a local hospice coordinator arranged the flagging of a 92-year-old Korean War Veteran who recently lost his wife and daughter.

Each day leading up to December 14th is an opportunity to raise awareness and bring our community together.

“The legacy of Faith, Family, and Community from our own military family members – including our Poppy, buried at the Rehoboth Village Cemetery, largely inspired our family to facilitate the Wreaths Across America Rehoboth location.” says Project Director, Jaime Papineau. Ed August, “Poppy”, was a member of the Rehoboth community and a proud Navy veteran, having served in the U.S. Navy as a Signalman during both the Korean and Vietnam Wars. He retired as a Chief Petty Officer after 20 years of service and co-founded the U.S. Navy Cruiser Sailors Association (USNCSA), which brought together over 4,000 veterans worldwide who served aboard a cruiser ship during their military service.