News, Tours & Events
Forest Lawn Cemetery Places Wreaths to Honor Veterans as Part of National Wreaths Across America Program.
Posted on December 10th, 2011FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 10, 2011
Forest Lawn Cemetery Places Wreaths to Honor Veterans
as Part of National Wreaths Across America Program.
Forest Lawn is the only cemetery in Erie County selected
to participate in this program.
Buffalo, NY – Forest Lawn Cemetery today placed 65 holiday wreaths at significant locations throughout its grounds to acknowledge veterans as part of the nationwide Wreaths Across America program.
Wreaths Across America is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded to continue and expand the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery begun by Maine businessman, Morrill Worcester, in 1992. The organization’s mission, Remember, Honor, Teach, is carried out in part each year by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies on the second Saturday of December at Arlington, as well as hundreds of veterans’ cemeteries and other locations in all 50 states and beyond. For more information about Wreaths Across America, visit www.wreathsacrossamerica.org.
Forest Lawn was the only cemetery in Erie County selected to be the beneficiary of donations received by the local organizing committee for wreaths to be placed during today’s National Remembrance Ceremony. In addition to seven ceremonial wreaths that were placed in Forest Lawn’s Field of ValorSM to honor the U.S. Army; U.S. Navy; U.S. Marine Corps; U.S. Air Force; U.S. Coast Guard; U.S. Merchant Marines and POW/MIA, 58 wreaths were also placed at significant graves and/or monuments. Click here for a complete list and map of where the wreaths were placed. This handout is also available at the Forest Lawn office.
“Wreaths Across America is a very important national event in which Forest Lawn is proud and honored to participate. Through our participation, we honor all Western New York veterans who have served our great country and are now gone,” says Forest Lawn President Joseph P. Dispenza. “We are honored to be selected as the Erie County representative for this national event, and we are grateful to all those who donated the money for the wreaths placed today.”
The wreaths will remain at the various sites in Forest Lawn throughout the holiday season.
About Forest Lawn
As one of the first rural cemeteries in the United States, Forest Lawn – located in downtown Buffalo, NY – is at the heart of Western New York’s cultural tourism renaissance. Its first interment took place in 1850; today there are more than 160,000 permanent residents in this 269-acre, non-denominational, non-sectarian, not-for-profit cemetery. Forest Lawn offers year-round guided tours, educational programming, flag retirement ceremonies for scouts, special veteran programming and so much more. Forest Lawn is the only local full-service cemetery for traditional and cremation arrangements listed on the State and National Registries of Historic Places.
