Escort to Arlington

Escort to Arlington- Starts December 4, 2011 in Harrington Maine, finishes on December 10, 2011 at Arlington National Cemetery:

Since 1991, the Arlington project, had been the quiet mission of Morrill Worcester and his family. In 2006, internet stories fueled attention for his annual quest, and Worcester was contacted by the Patriot Guard Riders who generously offered their help with the project. Since then the Patriot Guard Riders have escorted the wreath trucks down the East Coast and taking several days to make the trip. This allows stops at schools, monuments, veterans’ homes and communities, and gives the group an opportunity to promote their mission: Remember-Honor and Teach. This “parade” of truckers, supporters, and well-wishers has become an annual event and teaching opportunity for WAA, and a valued part of the Arlington Project. For more information on the escort to Arlington please see our Reference Book. A schedule of the trip and the various stops along the way are posted below:

This Schedule is Subject to Change:

Saturday December 3, 2011

5:30 am- Staging at Machias Motor Inn for trip to Sunrise service at Quoddy Head State Park

9:00 am- Brunch served at Washington County Community College Route 1 Calais, ME

12:00 noon- Wreath Ceremony, Ferry Point Bridge in Calais, ME

6:00 pm- Dinner served to all participants at Wreaths Across America HQ Columbia Falls, ME

WAA Escort Route Harrington, Me-Auburn, Mass

Sunday December 4, 2011

O900 Leave Harrington Route 1 South

1030 Arrive Ellsworth Route 1 S to Route 1A North

Route 1A north to Route 395 Brewer

Route 395 West to Route 2 (Bangor)

Route 2 to Billings Rd Hermon

1130 Arrive Hermon Elementary School

1:00 Leave Hermon Elementary School

Billings Rd to Route 2N to Coldbrook Rd

Route 95 South to Gardiner Service Area

Route 295 S to Freeport Exit 22 to Route 1

Route 1 to Portland and Cheverus HS

1630 Arrive Cheverus HS

1845 Arrive a Cabela’s

Monday December 5, 2011

0700 Leave Cabela’s route 1 south

Route 1 south to Kittery Trading Post

0945 Leave KTP Route 95 south

1000 Route 95 south to rest area NH/Mass border

Route 95 south to Topsfield Fair Grounds Exit

12:30 Leave Topsfield Fair Grounds Route 95 South

Route 95 South to Route 128

Route 128 to Route 20 to Auburn, Mass

Tuesday December 6, 2011

0730 Depart Auburn, MA Elks Club Rt 90 West

0900 Rest/Fuel stop Lee, Ma 80.7 mi

0930 Depart Lee, MA

0945 Arrive at Canaan, NY Super Stop (I-90 Exit B3) 12.1 mi

1000 Depart Canaan, NY Super Stop

1035 Arrive New Baltimore Service Area (I-87S) 30.6 mi rolling stop

1040 Depart New Baltimore Service Area

1110 Arrive Ulster Service Area 30.7 mi rolling stop

1115 Depart Ulster Service Area

1200 Arrive OCC Newburgh, NY 38.5 mi

1300 Ceremony at OCC

1400 Depart OCC via NY 9W

1440 Arrive West Point, Washington Gate 29.2 mi

1500 Ceremony at West Point

1600 Arrive Fort Lee Holiday Inn Express

Wednesday December 7, 2011

0730 Depart Holiday Inn Express Ft. Montgomery, NY

0740 Take US-6W to NYS thruway I-87S 10.5 mi NYSP

0800 Enter NYS Thruway I-87S

0830 Arrive Ramapo Service Area rolling stop

0835 Depart Ramapo Service Area 20.6

0855 Enter Westchester County via TZB (I87S) 12.8 NYSP/Westchester

0910 Enter NYC Major Deegan Expressway (I-87S) 5.5 mi

0920 GWB access (I-95S) 1.9 mi

0925 NJ side of GWB 6.8 mi

0930 Arrive Vince Lombardi Service area

0940 Depart Vince Lombardi Service area

1000 Depart at Liberty State Park

1100 Depart Liberty State Park (I95 S to Garden State Pkw)

1200 Exit 116 Garden State Parkway to Vietnam Memorial

1400 Depart Vietnam Memorial (Garden SP south to Route 195W)

1500 Route 195 West to Yardley Penn.

THURSDAY DECEMBER 8

8:00am Arrive at Philadelphia Charter High School

1:30pm Arrive at Valley Forge Military Academy and College

3:00pm Leave VFMA

OVERNIGHT STAY AT HAMPTON INN MIDDLETOWN, DEL

FRIDAY DECEMBER 9

7:30 Leave Hampton Inn

8:00 Arrive at Middletown High School

9:30 Leave Middletown HS

11:00 Arrive at Legion Post 278 Stevensville, MD

Wreath Ceremony and lunch

1:15 Wreath laying at WWII Memorial, City of Annapolis

followed by wreath laying at the Annapolis Naval

Academy Monument

3:00 Leave Annapolis, MD

4:00 Arrive at Branchville FS College Park, MD

7:00 pm Rally at Knights of Columbus Hall, 9450 Cherry Hill Road, College Park

OVERNIGHT STAY AT HOLIDAY INN COLLEGE PARK, MD

TRUCKS WILL STAGE AT BRANCHVILLE FIRE STATION

COLLEGE PARK, MD

SATURDAY DECEMBER 10

4:00am Breakfast served at the Branchville Fire Dept

6:00am Leave for Arlington

7:00am Arrive at Arlington

To participate at Arlington National Cemetery:

Click here for directions for the Metro, Parking, or Maps of the Cemetery.

To volunteer your time to place wreaths at Arlington, please join us at the Memorial Amphitheater on the Second Saturday in December (Dec. 10) at 8:30 a.m. for the Opening Ceremony. The ceremony will provide some introductory remarks and a short briefing to provide basic information to volunteers. After the ceremony, volunteers will move to the designated areas of the cemetery where they will participate in the laying of wreaths on headstones. We want to remind you that when you place the wreath, you may be the first person to visit that particular grave in years, so we hope you will take time to read the stone and honor the memory of that hero.

At 11:00 a.m. there will be a wreath laying at President Kennedy’s grave followed by an 11:30 a.m. wreath laying at the USS Maine Mast Memorial. The final ceremony will take place at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers at noon.

We highly encourage Metro use. While the Arlington Cemetery stop on the Blue Line stops at the cemetery entrance, you can access various parts of the Cemetery from the Rosslyn, Pentagon, and Pentagon City stops via only a short walk. To support our Metro traveling volunteers, we will have multiple gates open to provide pedestrian access to the ceremony. In addition, we will have parking spaces at the Pentagon, Navy Annex, Fort Myer, as well as the parking garage at the main cemetery entrance. Look to our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ArlingtonWreaths and website www.wreathsacrossamerica.org for more details, driving directions, etc. There will be free parking is available in the visitors parking lot at Arlington from 7:15 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Clean up volunteers are always needed too. Clean up at Arlington National Cemetery will take place at 8:00 a.m., Jan. 28, 2012. For more information contact Mr. Wayne Hanson, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at driftabit@aol.com.

0715 Arlington National Cemetery Gates open to public
0745 Ceremonial Wreaths Across America Truck Parade arrives Arlington Main entrance (time approx)
0830 Opening Ceremony (Memorial Amphitheater)
0845 Flyby by HMX1 helicopters; Wreath laying begins at sites throughout cemetery
1100 Wreath laying ceremony at President Kennedy grave
1130 Wreath laying ceremony at USS Maine Mast
1200 Wreath laying ceremony at Tomb of Unknown Soldier

Immediately following the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers there will be wreath ceremonies at the WWII Memorial, Korean War Memorial and the Vietnam War Memorial.

1:30 pm Pentagon Memorial

No other formal registration or sign-up is required. Just show up at the designated time and place.

Thank You!