Haines veterans will join members of Civil Air Patrol at “Wreaths Across America,” an observance of the sacrifice of military veterans from the United States and Canada, starting noon Saturday at the U.S. border station at Dalton Cache.
Civil Air Patrol cadet commanders from Sitka, Prince of Wales Island and Juneau will join Amber Ford, commander of Chilkat Valley Flight 94, to exchange wreaths with five members of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets from Whitehorse, Y.T.
The wreath received by the Alaska cadets will be transported for display at the Sitka National Cemetery, said Simon Ford, flight commander of the CAP here. The international ceremony here – one of many that will occur at U.S.-Canada border locations – will be the farthest north and west, he said.
It’s fitting to honor veterans of both nations as U.S. and Canada soldiers fought side by side in both World Wars and in many recent conflicts, said Jim Moran of the local American Legion. “It’s to recognize that brotherhood.”
Now in its sixth year, Wreaths Across America is the successor of the Arlington National Cemetery wreath project launched by a Maine businessman who placed wreaths at graves there. In recent years, up to 100,000 wreaths have been placed at Arlington by CAP members.
More than 600 CAP units have participated in the observance in recent years, according to the Wreaths Across America website.
For more information, contact Moran at 314-0286. The Civil Air Patrol is open to youths between the ages of 12 and 18. Contact Simon Ford for more information.