December 21, 2023 By Tom Hoffman
Families from the South Shore Special Needs Athletic Partnership (SNAP) were joined by members of the Colonel Thomas Lothrop Old Colony Chapter of the DAR and other volunteers to set a record last Saturday.
The record was over 3 million wreaths being placed on veterans graves in over 4225 cemeteries through the 50 states, Puerto Rico, Guam and for the first time America Samoa as part of the Wreaths Across America Program(WAA).
Hingham has six cemeteries that include the graves of 3600 veterans. The veterans graves are marked with medallions and American flags through the coordinated effort of Hingham’s Veterans Service Officer Keith Jermyn, veterans groups and other volunteers. Over 80 volunteers placed 950 wreaths on veterans’ graves at High Street Cemetery, Fort Hill Cemetery and some at St. Paul’s Cemetery.
This was the fifth year that South Shore SNAP help coordinate the community service program, raising funds along with the DAR Chapter to fund the wreaths. The wreaths are $ 17 each but when a sponsor contributes $ 34, a third wreath is provided for free. Due to the fact that 3600 wreaths would cost in excess of $40,000, a rotational system is used each year for the wreath placement in Hingham. This year the plan was to cover just the High Street and Fort Hill Cemeteries but a shipping error resulted in Hingham receiving an additional 144 wreaths, so the volunteers found their way to St. Paul’s to place the extra wreaths.
All in all everyone had a great and meaningful morning while honoring those that served our country.