Howard Composite Squadron Honors Veterans with Wreaths Across America

by Maj. Jacob Gerstein, CAP

LAUREL, MD–On December 14, 2013, Howard Composite Squadron held a Wreaths Across America ceremony to honor America’s veterans interred at Crest Lawn Memorial Gardens in Marriottsville, Md. Sixteen Civil Air Patrol members joined the local community to place over 300 wreaths on veterans’ graves.

The annual ceremony at Crest Lawn was first held in 2008. As in previous years, family members of those interred joined CAP members to place wreaths on loved ones’ graves. The ceremony was held simultaneously with hundreds of others around the world, including the National Wreaths Across America Remembrance Ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

Wreaths Across America began in 2006 as an offshoot of the Arlington National Cemetery wreath project, which was started in 1992 with the annual placement of wreaths donated by Worcester Wreath Co. Wreaths Across America ceremonies are conducted largely by CAP wings and squadrons with the help of veterans’ organizations; private citizens; the Maine State Society of Washington, D.C., which annually assists with the laying of wreaths at Arlington; and the Patriot Guard Riders. Visit www.wreathsacrossamerica.org for more information about Wreaths Across America and participating locations.

CAP, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with 61,000 members nationwide, operating a fleet of 550 aircraft. CAP, in its Air Force auxiliary role, performs 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and is credited by the AFRCC with saving an average of 80 lives annually. Its volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to more than 26,000 young people currently participating in the CAP cadet programs.  CAP received the World Peace Prize in 2011 and has been performing missions for America for 71 years. CAP also participates in Wreaths Across America, an initiative to remember, honor and teach about the sacrifices of U.S. military veterans. Visit www.gocivilairpatrol.com or www.capvolunteernow.com for more information.

Nearly 1,700 CAP members serve in Maryland. Last year wing members flew 13 search and rescue missions. The wing was credited with five finds and one life saved. Maryland Wing flew 32 missions for the State of Maryland. Members flew 2,106 hours in all mission categories. Volunteers contributed services estimated at 4.6 million dollars. For more information contact the Maryland Wing at www.mdcap.org or visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/MarylandWingCivilAirPatrol.

Howard Composite Squadron meets on Thursdays from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in the cafeteria of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md.  The squadron does not meet on days that Howard County public schools are closed.