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Wreaths remember soldiers lost

PARKERSBURG — Several local organizations participated Saturday in a yearly nationwide program to honor and remember fallen servicemembers with a decorative wreath marking the holiday season.

Wreaths Across America began in 1992 with a trailer load of wreaths, decorated by volunteers and laid at the graves of fallen soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. It has now become a national organization with more than 900 participating locations focused on the mission to remember, honor and teach.

In Belpre, members of American Legion Post 495 conducted a ceremony at 11 a.m. Saturday at the historic Cedarville Cemetery.

Don Ery, organizer of Saturday’s ceremony for Post 495, said it was the eighth year the post has conducted the Wreaths Across America at Cedarville and was the last thing it was doing as an American Legion post.

In November, Post 495 announced it was closing after over 80 years in the Belpre community.

“This is Post 495’s last day, actually,” he said Saturday morning. “When we finish here, we are going down to the post and strike the colors down there.”

Ery said most of Post 495’s members have chosen to join other Legion posts in the area, but the group will still be active in Belpre.

“We’re also starting a Belpre area veterans association that the members will join. It’s going to be much less formal than the American Legion but we are going to continue to do these ceremonies and we have the Honor Walk at Howes Grove Park that we’re going to continue to take care of,” hesaid.

At noon, a wreath was placed at the Gold Star Memorial at Spencer’s Landing in Vienna with Mayor Randy Rapp in attendance. Also attending was Rick Raab of Parkersburg, one of the local veterans featured on the Gold Star Memorial.

In Parkersburg at City Park, members of the Parkersburg Squadron Civil Air Patrol gathered at noon Saturday to join with others across the country as part of the Wreaths Across America project. They place wreaths at the various veterans memorials located next to the pond in City Park.

“It is a little nerve-wracking to lay the wreaths at the memorials,” said Camden Westfall, 15, a member of the Parkersburg Squadron Civil Air Patrol.

“Remembering and honoring our veterans is a big deal, especially to me, and I am glad to have participated in this ceremony,” he said.

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