It was a good thing we turned in early last night because 3:00am came quickly to rise and head for the Branchville Fire Department for breakfast. We had a great “send off” there with lots of photos, goodbyes and thank you’s all around! There were many emotions because we have been with this small family now for a week that we will probably never see again.
Once we got squared away after breakfast and lined up, we headed out to Arlington in the dark and we had the only trailer where the lights were shining proudly on our graphics and we clearly stood out among the rest of the crowd. Everybody really loved it – so many positive comments. Carl was glad he took the time to clean up the truck the day before.
When we arrived at Arlington, there were so many people to welcome the convoy when we neared the front gate. The convoy had grown to over 80 vehicles by the time we reached the cemetery. The entire crowd of volunteers was asked to attend a short briefing in the amphitheater adjacent to the Tomb of the Unknowns. The organizers of the event and Arlington positioned our truck closest to the amphitheater at the bottom of the hill on Roosevelt Drive so it was the first trailer full of wreaths that each person encountered when they left the presentation. In addition, so many people congregated around the truck for photos and conversation.
We were assigned two US Marines and 3 cadets to assist us unpacking the truck. Each box contained seven wreaths and we had over 700 wreaths to unload from our truck. Carl worked passing out all the wreaths while I was passing out the red knit hats to all of the kids that were there to help place the wreaths. I handed out over 200 hats from just our truck alone and there were others packed in different trailers. Each child that I handed a hat to was pleased and gracious – the most polite I have ever seen. All the wreaths were gone so quickly and there were many people coming up to see if we had more. We had kept one extra box and handed those out to a couple members of the military. Carl even cut off the one we had attached to the grill of the truck and handed it to someone to be placed.
After all the wreaths were passed out, the Marines helped us clean up all the cardboard and pack it back in the truck. Carl and I had set aside a couple of wreaths for us to place – after carrying them with so much care for the week we each were going to place at least one ourselves. After we placed our wreaths, we had an opportunity to wander around Arlington a bit. Such a beautiful place – so huge, so impressive, but so sad. So very many lost lives are represented here, but so many of the stones now have a wreath to show those lives are not forgotten.
We wandered back to the truck and waited while many, many pictures were taken of the Oakhurst truck and trailer. It does demand attention. People love the graphics and that it is from Maine and represents the state where the wreaths are made. Several people asked if we were from Maine and introduced themselves as being from Maine. We even met a couple from Gorham who looked especially for the truck because they knew Carl and I were with it.
We left Arlington around 11:00am because we wanted to enjoy as much daylight as possible on the start of our return trip to Maine. The escort cars guided us out of the very busy cemetery and we found I-95 north and headed for home. Still, all along the way we have received honks, waves, thumbs-up and cheers as we pass people on the interstate. You grow used to it in a convoy, but you realize people really do know and appreciate what Wreaths Across America stands for when you are the only truck and they are just as excited.
We want to thank Oakhurst for the opportunity to be a part of Wreaths Across America. It was an experience of a lifetime and we will never forget it. We were proud to represent Oakhurst Dairy and by extension the State of Maine in such a beautiful truck and such a worthy cause. Thank you very much.
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