David Holtz and his 7-year-old daughter, Nyla, saluted Saturday as they laid a wreath before the headstone of World War II Army veteran Richard H. Irwin at Jeannette Memorial Park.
It was the Jeannette girl’s first year as a Cub Scout and her first time taking part in an annual December placement of wreaths to honor members of her community who served in one of the nation’s military branches.
“Thank you, Richard,” Holtz said as he and his daughter started uphill to pay tribute at another veteran’s grave.
Nyla was among more than a dozen area Scouts of various ages, as well as other volunteers, who braved frigid temperatures to take part in Jeannette’s sixth annual Wreaths Across America ceremony. Participants laid balsam fir wreaths to honor 650 some veterans buried at Penn Township’s Jeannette Memorial Park and past service members interred at six other nearby cemeteries.
“It’s a great learning experience for the kids,” Holtz said. “It’s an opportunity for them to learn what happened many years ago. They get to walk around and look at the different (gravestone) dates and see the difference between the World War I and World War II veterans.
“They learn it wasn’t just one generation that did this. It was multiple generations.”
Participants were encouraged to say the name of each veteran aloud as they laid a wreath at their grave site.
“It’s a small act that goes a long way toward keeping the memory of our veterans alive,” said Tim Brennan, commander of the Jeannette Combined Veterans Honor Guard. “We are here not to remember their deaths, but their lives.”
Members of the honor guard conducted a rifle salute and helped to place eight wreaths recognizing the various armed forces branches as well as service members who became prisoners of war or were missing in action.
“We’re not decorating graves, we’re honoring these veterans, both men and women, at Christmastime,” said Marine veteran Jim Henderson, adjutant of the Jeannette American Legion post and district commander of the Legion Riders.
Scouts also laid a wreath at the grave of a hero from their own ranks: Jeannette’s Robert W. Eicher. Eicher was just 14 when he drowned on Aug. 11, 1917 trying unsuccessfully to save fellow Jeannette teen Ada May “Maizie” Hugg from the same fate in Loyalhanna Creek in Ligonier Township.
He was posthumously awarded one of the first Boy Scouts of America Gold Honor Medals. He also received a Carnegie Medal in 1918.
“He was a boy hero who gave his life for another,” Brennan said.
The Jeannette-area wreath ceremonies are organized by a local couple, Desert Storm veteran Frank Drury and his wife, Linda.
They put in a yearlong effort to plan the day’s activities and to collect donations and sponsorships to cover associated costs — including $17 for each of nearly 1,900 wreaths.
“It’s my Christmas present to see everybody take part,” Frank Drury said of the event. “It’s all worth it. I’ll start my fundraising again tomorrow for next year.”
Jeannette is one of more than 5,000 location that hold events affiliated with national nonprofit Wreaths Across America.
Other participating area communities include North Huntingdon and, for the first time this year, Scottdale.
Scottdale organizer Michelle Williams said she joined forces with Kristy Smith, both former members of the Southmoreland School Board, to gather support for the wreath event while her husband, James, put in legwork documenting the more than 900 veteran graves at Scottdale Cemetery.
“He was out walking the cemetery and marking the veterans’ graves,” Williams said of her husband.
“It’s something I’ve wanted to bring here,” Williams said . “It’s a good experience for the community and the kids that come to help. I’m excited to see it all come together.”