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John and Susan McColley from Gettysburg and their friend Don Farren (right) of Montgomery County attended the Wreaths Across America Ceremony.
Cadet Chief Master Sgt. Victoria Triana with the Civil Air Patrol salutes a wreath placed in honor of the POWs and MIAs during a Wreaths Across America Ceremony at the Quantico Cemetery yesterday. |
By CATHY DYSON
Two families with vastly different stories gathered at Quantico National Cemetery yesterday to remember their loved ones.
One couple, John and Susan McColley, came from Gettysburg, Pa., to visit the grave of their son.
Marine Sgt. Eric McColley died in February in Africa, a 23-year-old casualty in the global war against terrorism.
Another pair--mother Josephine Young of Winchester and daughter Courtney Saddler of Fairfax--were thinking about a member of "The Greatest Generation."
James L. Young, their husband and father, served in the Air Force in the months after World War II, then went on to live a full life. Quantico became his final resting place in 2002.
Both were honored yesterday--along with thousands of others like them--as part of an event called Wreaths Across America.
The tradition started 14 years ago when Morrill and Karen Worcester of Maine provided holiday wreaths for 5,000 tombstones at Arlington National Cemetery.
The Worcesters, who own a wreath company, considered it their way to honor those who fought in long-ago wars as well as modern battles.
This year, the couple invited every national cemetery across the United States to join in the noon-time ceremony.
Quantico was among 11 participating sites in Virginia--and more than 270 nationwide.
The Worcesters provided the wreaths for Arlington, as well as six wreaths for each of the other national cemeteries. Each green wreath represented one of the branches of the military, as well as the 93,852 prisoners of war or missing in action who never came home.
The organizers also asked cadets with Civil Air Patrol squadrons to be on hand to place the wreaths.
Cadets with the Fredericksburg Composite Squadron jumped at the chance to help, said Capt. Richard Pleasant, commander of the local squadron.
The squadron is an auxiliary of the Coast Guard and regularly trains at Quantico. The cadets, who are under 21, wanted to thank the Marine Corps base for use of its facilities and to honor the service members buried in the peaceful hillsides.
"This represents any war that we've been in, and it represents all our fallen soldiers," said Cadet Asia Pleasant. "It's important to know that they're respected and remembered."
The family members of the two servicemen at Quantico yesterday thought the same. Both had planned to visit the cemetery this month, then timed their visit to see the wreath-laying ceremony.
Josephine Young couldn't find words to express her gratitude that her husband was being remembered.
"It's just unspeakable," she said.
Commander Pleasant also had a little trouble with some of the words he read. He followed a script that was sent by the organizers, and at one point, thought about his son.
Clifton Pleasant, who turns 21 this month, is going through officer training at Quantico. He'll be commissioned a second lieutenant next year and may be deployed.
Pleasant wondered where his son's duties might take him, as he read: "And, children, we want you to understand the freedoms you enjoy today have not been free, but have come with a cost, that, someday, you may have to pay yourself."
To reach CATHY DYSON:
Email: cdyson@freelancestar.com
