Veterans remembered with wreaths

About 50 volunteers placed wreaths on the graves of more than 575 veterans Saturday, Dec. 16 after a ceremony at Veterans Memorial Park.

Graves of about 250 veterans are documented at Cedar Heights Cemetery on Ridge Road and about 260 at St. Joseph Cemetery on Germantown Road. One wreath also was placed at the West Milford Presbyterian Church Cemetery.

This was the seventh year that West Milford has participated in the national Wreaths Across America Day, which was marked in more than 4,200 communities this year.

The goal is keep alive the memories of U.S. veterans by placing wreaths on their graves, then saying their names aloud.

Cindy LeMay, who organized the local ceremony, said her son Evan and his best friend Matthew Hoffman started the tradition in 2017 when they were in high school.

Evan LeMay now is serving in the Marines and Hoffman is in college and has joined the Army National Guard, she said.

At the beginning of the ceremony, she thanked West Milford residents for supporting Wreaths Across America. “This year again, we’re able to make sure every veteran in the cemeteries that we participated in will be covered, which is great. So not one person’s name will be forgotten today.”

During the ceremony, residents presented wreaths for each branch of the U.S. military as well as for prisoners of war and those missing in action and for first-responders.

“Wreaths Across America is about more than just laying wreaths. It’s about fostering a spirit of unity and gratitude that extends beyond a single day. It’s about teaching our younger generation the importance of honoring and remembering our fallen heroes,” Mayor Michele Dale said.

Rudy Haas, commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7198, reminded those at the ceremony, “The freedoms we enjoy today have not come without a price. Lying here in our cemeteries throughout this nation are the men and women who gave their lives so that we can live in freedom and without fear.

“We can worship as we see fit. We can raise our children to believe as we do. We are free to vote for the leaders of our choosing. And we have the right to succeed and we have the right to fail at whatever endeavor we wish to pursue.”

Eugene Hoffman, the keynote speaker, who served three separate stints in the military, asked residents to remember “the selflessness and sacrifice each of my brothers and sisters portrayed during their time in the service and make a solemn promise to never forget.”