A crowd shows up at St. Thomas Cemetery
On a Saturday in December, grateful Americans all over the nation place wreaths at the graves of veterans. It’s not an old tradition. It started in Arlington Cemetery in 1992. It came to Orange County in 2017. And two years later Lisa Favino introduced the observance in Cornwall.
She’s a Newburgh resident, but Cornwall is where she grew up. And her father, a World War II veteran, is buried in St. Thomas Cemetery on Mailler Avenue.
When Ms. Favino started the observance, she probably didn’t expect so many people to join her.
This year it rained on Dec. 18. That would normally put the kibosh on an outdoor activity. The organizer had hoped to recruit 70 volunteers. There was no official count, but there were probably more than 100 people in the foul-weather crowd.
I counted 33 vehicles on Mailler. The cemetery paths were filled with cars. And lots of people parked on the side streets. Many volunteers came in family groups. So the organizer’s expectations were definitely exceeded.
There are 357 veterans buried in St. Thomas. In November, a group placed a stake at each veteran’s grave. On Wednesday, Dec. 15, the wreaths arrived and were stored at St. Thomas of Canterbury Church (St. Marianne Cope Parish). Benefactors had paid for the wreaths. Three volunteers unloaded them.
The rain was still falling at noon on Saturday when Ms. Favino called for attention and asked Richard Randazzo to read a traditional Wreaths Across America statement to the group that had gathered around the monument. Mr Randazzo is a Vice Commander of American Legion Post 353 in addition to being the Town Supervisor.
Following tradition, he called for 30 seconds of silence and later directed individual Girl Scouts to place a wreath at the monument in honor of each branch of the service – including the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, Space Force, Merchant Marines and the more than 90,000 Americans who are still missing in action.
After Taylor Hill, a high school sophomore, played “Taps,” Mr. Randazzo read these instructions. “We encourage every volunteer who places a wreath on a veteran’s grave to say that veteran’s name aloud and take a moment to thank them for their service to our country. It’s a small act that goes a long way to keeping the memory of our veterans alive.
“Remember we are not here today to decorate graves. We are here to remember not their deaths but their lives. Each wreath is a gift of appreciation from a grateful nation.”
As the crowd took wreaths and scattered among the rows of graves, Ms. Favino shook her head in amazement. “This is such a nice town,” she said.
