Civil Air Patrol Honors Veterans with Wreaths Acrosss America

Civil Air Patrol’s Putnam County Composite Squadron (NY033) held two wreath laying ceremonies in Carmel, New York to honor Putnam’s hometown heroes. The ceremonies are part of National Wreaths Across America Day – when citizens come together to remember our fallen, honor those who serve, and teach younger generations the value of freedom.

The first observance took place on December 16, at Raymond Hill Cemetery. Captain Elena MacDermant, Putnam County Composite Squadron Commander, opened the mid-afternoon ceremony with the squadron Color Guard holding the American Flag high as cadets placed wreaths for the five U.S. Armed Forces service branches at the entrance memorial. “Civil Air Patrol is pleased once again to be able to honor our brave veterans who are buried in this cemetery by placing wreaths on their graves. We honor, remember and teach,” said MacDermant. Squadron officers and cadets, with the assistance of 12 volunteers, then placed 160 remembrance wreaths on the headstones of interred veterans, taking time to read each stone and salute out of respect for their memory.

An additional ceremony was held on December 17, at Gilead Cemetery, to remember the heroes who served in the American Revolution, including American Patriot and spy, Enoch Crosby. Squadron members, joined by the Daughters of the American Revolution, placed 30 wreaths during the ceremony. Major Ralph Langham (CAP NY033), directing the solemn service for the squadron noted, “It is important for our placing of wreaths to fully involve the cadets from the time they salute the wreath to their accompanying a dignitary to the actual placing of the wreath on the grave of a veteran. We take them back in time for most of the veterans they are honoring.”

Putnam County Composite Squadron participated with 700 Civil Air Patrol squadrons and 1,400 other locations across the country for National Wreaths Across America Day. Jennifer Pollack, Regent of the Enoch Crosby chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and Karl Rohde, Putnam County Commissioner of Veterans Affairs, participated in both ceremonies.

For additional information contact Captain Elena MacDermant, at (845) 216-5433, email elenamac@aol.com or visit www.facebook.com/PutnamCountyCompositeSquadron.

Civil Air Patrol, the longtime all-volunteer U.S. Air Force auxiliary, is the newest member of the Air Force’s Total Force. In this role, Civil Air Patrol operates a fleet of 560 aircraft, performs about 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. Civil Air Patrol’s 57,000 members also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. Civil Air Patrol also plays a leading role in aerospace/STEM education, and its members serve as mentors to 24,000 young people participating in Civil Air Patrol’s Cadet Programs. Visit www.gocivilairpatrol.com for more information.