Signal Hill Chapter, NSDAR, sponsoring Wreaths Across America for 2021
The Signal Hill Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, will sponsor Wreaths Across America Day for the third year at Evergreen Cemetery in Barrington, on Saturday, December 18, 2021. The National theme for 2021 is "Live Up to Their Legacy."
While there will be no Memorial Day parade this year at Evergreen Cemetery, 610 S. Dundee Ave., Barrington, a brief memorial service will be held there on Monday, May 31, 2021 at 11a.m. Volunteers from the Signal Hill Chapter, NSDAR will be available at the gathering to share information on Wreaths Across America, how to participate, and how to sponsor a wreath.
The mission of Wreaths Across America is to remember our fallen Veterans, honor those who serve, and teach children the value of freedom, and is carried out in part by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery, as well as at cemeteries in the U.S. and abroad on a Saturday in December each year. Since its founding, the organization has expanded to include nearly 3,000 local fundraising groups, representing more than 2,300 participating locations, in addition to Arlington National Cemetery.
This is a poignant event for Signal Hill's members, who all descend from participants in the American Revolution. Promoting patriotism, education and preservation of history are the fundamentals of Daughters of the American Revolution; the members of Signal Hill welcomed the opportunity to serve Wreaths Across America's purpose, while engaging the Barrington community in the event, beginning in 2019.
In 2020, Signal Hill Chapter worked with Evergreen Cemetery staff to modify the event, accommodating citizen wreath-laying in a pandemic-safe way, and drew 175 citizens who honored 667 identified veterans. Evergreen Cemetery was one of only a few northern Illinois cemeteries open to citizen volunteers for this event.
In addition, Signal Hill Chapter members performed research on all interred men and women living during time periods in which U.S armed forces participated in combat, identifying 30 additional Veterans whose families have not marked their loved one's grave with a Veteran's gravestone. The information gleaned from obituaries and online public databases provided "profile" information for many veterans who are now documented and shared on the Barrington Area Library website. The profiles of ten female Veterans interred at Evergreen have been submitted to the museum for Women in Military Service to America at Arlington, Virginia.
The number of veteran gravesites will not diminish as years pass, nor will the mission to honor them all. If you feel moved to join in this cause - to identify a veteran at Evergreen, or as a donor or a wreath-layer, contact the Signal Hill Chapter at www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/ILEGCA or signalhilldar.com .
Their legacy is in our hands. Live Up to Their Legacy - this year and forever.