Escort to Arlington- Starts December 9, 2012 in Harrington Maine, finishes on December 15, 2012 at Arlington National Cemetery:
Since 1992, 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:
We currently do not have a convoy schedule set up. We will post the schedule as soon as it is in place.
Thank you for your patience.
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 Third Saturday in December (Dec. 15) 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 TBD. 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!
