VFW Post 399 Auxiliary invites the community to buy a wreath, volunteer and/or attend event December 17 at Assumption Greens Farms Cemetery.
Over 2 million volunteers nationwide will be placing wreaths on veterans’ headstones on Saturday, December 17 at 12 Noon as part of “Wreaths Across America”, and Westport for the first time will have a participating cemetery.
“The mission of Wreaths Across America (WAA) is to ‘Remember, Honor and Teach. Remember the fallen. Honor those who serve and their families. Teach the future generations about the sacrifices made to preserve our freedoms’,” explained Patty Kondub, Location Coordinator and VFW Post 399 Auxiliary Junior Vice President.
November 29 is the cut-off date to order a wreath(s) for a veteran’s grave at Assumption Greens Farms Cemetery on Greens Farms Road.
Wreaths may even be designated for a specific veteran at this cemetery by contacting Patty Kondub at nortonpk@aol.com. Volunteers are needed prior to the event to mark graves, pre-position wreaths, and on December 17 to place the wreaths. Kondub is also collecting volunteer information and happy to answer any questions. WAA is a national nonprofit organization founded in 2007 to continue and expand the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery begun by Maine businessman Morrill Worcester in 1992.
WAA receives no government funding, and is not affiliated with any religion or political party. These are not Christmas wreaths, but are veterans’ wreaths or remembrance wreaths.
“It is an honor to head up this event. My father, John Kondub, was a WWII Marine and VFW Post 399 member. He was a Purple Heart Recipient from his hand-to-hand combat in the Japanese Islands. He is buried at Assumption Greens Farms Cemetery, which is just about across from where he was born on a farm before I-95 came along. There are over 200 veterans buried in this cemetery, and I hope they all get a wreath,” wrapped up Kondub.
