- December 31, 2024
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Coastal Florida Police & Fire Pipes and Drums. Photo by Joey Pellegrino
Chaplain Harry Gilman prays with the crowd. Photo by Joey Pellegrino
Barbara Wright laying a wreath. Photo by Joey Pellegrino
Boy scout Bryan Carson at a veteran's grave. Photo by Joey Pellegrino
Wreaths lain at the flags of each branch of the U.S. military. Photo by Joey Pellegrino
Committee of the Wreaths for Veterans chapter of Wreaths Across America: Beth Branick, Janet Search and Paul and Linda Steggerda. Photo by Joey Pellegrino
Flagler County Commissioner Dave Sullivan. Photo by Joey Pellegrino
A crowd gathered at noon on Dec. 14 at Craig-Flagler Palms Memorial Gardens to pay respects to fallen American veterans in the Wreaths Across America ceremony.
Flagler County Commissioner Dave Sullivan spoke to the crowd after the Pledge of Allegiance.
“I want our children to understand that the freedoms they enjoy today were not free,” Sullivan said.
Interspersed between Sullivan’s comments and a prayer from retired Chaplain Harry Gilman were performances by Coastal Florida Police & Fire Pipes and Drums, including “America the Beautiful” and “Amazing Grace.”
“This is the first time we’re doing this here in Palm Coast,” Sullivan said. “It honors all our veterans and veterans’ families, and it’s a time of year when we should be thinking about our families.”
Wreaths were lain at five flags surrounding the American flag, each representing a branch of the U.S. military. The wreath for the U.S. Navy was lain by World War II veteran Frank Fonte, and fellow WWII veteran Johnny Vidota performed “Taps” on the bugle.
The ceremony concluded with attendees laying wreaths at the graves of veterans throughout the Craig-Flagler Palms cemetery. Each was marked with a small American flag. The living were instructed to speak aloud the names of the dead as they laid the wreaths.
Janet Search, a member of the committee from the local Wreaths for Veterans chapter of Wreaths Across America, said the ceremony was 16 months in the making. Most of 2019 was spent planning the fundraiser that earned the $4,000 necessary to purchase enough wreaths.
“I thought it went great,” Search said. “I felt this was my payback for the veterans who didn’t get the recognition the deserved.”
