Fort Stewart held its 15th-annual Wreaths for Warriors Walk on Cottrell Field this past weekend. The event provides each Crepe Myrtle tree with a wreath to be placed at the base by the name of the fallen 3rd Infantry Division soldier.
Eighteen Gold Star families attended the event including the family of Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn Cashe, whose family was presented the Congressional Medal of Honor at the White House last Thursday.
A Gold Star Family is the immediate family member(s) of a fallen service member who died while serving in a time of conflict.
For soldiers who did not have family in attendance local motorcycle groups, the Boy Scouts and other organizations ensured that all 469 trees had a wreath at the base to honor the soldier.
“Probably the best part about this ceremony is that we have participation from so many groups,” said Tony Justi, President of the organization. “We have the Civil Air Patrol from Savannah who have helped us from the very start. We have the junior ROTC from Liberty County High and Bradwell and all the motorcycle groups that come out to support this event. It really means a lot to see all these volunteers out here.”
Their first ceremony was a much smaller affair.
“We started in 2007,” Justi said. “It was a very small ceremony. We only had 100 people here but because of the success of that ceremony we decided to make it an annual event. It’s important to me. I am a retired soldier. And it is important to the community and all these soldiers here to know these soldiers and the sacrifices they made and their families made will never be forgotten.”
Justi said the idea for the annual event stemmed from Morrill Worcester, owner of Worcester Wreath Company and founder of Wreaths Across America. Justi said he had seen a photo of all the wreaths the Worcester family placed at Arlington National Cemetery and decided to bring a similar tradition to Fort Stewart. Justi and Bruce Muncher formed Wreaths for Warriors Walk which is a certified 501c3 non-profit.
They are not affiliated with the US Army, 3rd Infantry Division, or Fort Stewart, Georgia. Wreaths for Warriors Walk is supported entirely by unsolicited donations.
“We gather donations to purchase the wreaths because we do have to purchase the wreaths,” Justi said. He added donations also help cover the cost for the ceremony and other things they put together for the benefits of the Gold Star families.
Luis Carreras, emeritus ambassador of the U.S. Army Reserve, read the poem, "Another Tree Planted," written by Reese Bishop.
Col. Kevin J. Lambert, the deputy commanding general-sustainment of the 3rd Infantry Division, described the origins of the annual wreath laying at the event.
In talking about the Worcester family Col. Lambert said the owner of the wreath store started placing wreaths in the older section of the cemetery. A section, “He was quite sure went forgotten every year.”
“That is a practice that he started in 1992 that he quietly repeated every year until 2005 when a snow-covered photo of those wreaths went viral,” Col. Lambert said.
He said Wreaths Across American now hosts thousands of ceremonies at veteran cemeteries across the nation.
Casinal Cashe-White the older sister of Alwyn Cashe said it’s been a whirl-wind week with press conferences and meeting President Joe Biden.
“It was my second visit at the White House but my first visit to the East Wing,” she said. “It was peaceful and kind of surreal because our family had to wait for the longest time (for the medal).”
She said her brother was the youngest of nine and loved by his family.
“It was a moment that happens only once in a lifetime,” she said about seeing her brother’s widow receive the medal on the family’s behalf. “This was a moment like, Oh my God, finally. Thank you, Jesus. It was the beginning of the end. I wished for and prayed for that for so long…it was absolutely wonderful”
Dana Kubasak was laying a wreath for her son Jared Kubasak. Her son was killed in Iraq in December of 2005 during his second deployment.
“It means the world to me, for people to remember and do something so special to remember our fallen,” she said. “I remember my son all the time but to know other people are remembering him too means a lot to me. To know he is not forgotten.”