Military & Motorcycles – December 7, 2012
Sarasota National Cemetery at CHRISTmas
Looking back at the development of the Sarasota National Cemetery I find it hard to believe it has come so far in such a short period of time.
I have watched the now hallowed ground go from pasture land to that of one of the top Veterans Administration Cemeteries in the country.
For those of you who may never have been to the cemetery it is located at 9810 State Road 72 (Clark Road), Sarasota.
As a Patriot Guard Riders (http://www.patriotguard.org/) I have attend numerous committal services at the Sarasota cemetery as well as others throughout Florida. Most of the ceremonies are attended by families and friends however, there are those who we commit to the hallow ground who have no family or friends to attend their comitial service, thus the PGR steps in as family because it is the right thing to do.
Each year the Sarasota National has a Wreath laying ceremony which is appropriately called the ‘Wreaths Across America’ Project. The first time I was involved with this project there were only a couple of hundred wreaths laid at Sarasota. This year I have been told all of the nearly 5,000 gravesites will have a wreath.
This year the Wreath Laying Ceremony will be held on Saturday, December 15th with the actual laying of the wreaths beginning at 9:30 AM and the ‘Remembrance Service’ will begin at 11:30 AM with Lt. Colonel William F. Brockman, III as the emcee. If you have never seen the cemetery with wreaths at each gravesite please come and visit on the 15th. It is really something to see and should be appreciated by all who attend.
I received an email from Gene Sweeney who is the man whose dream it was to build a local 9-11 Memorial. He wanted to let me know the 9-11 Memorial at Patriots Park in Venice (800 Venetia Bay Blvd.) now has 115 names engraved on the granite walls. Those names now include the names of the four people who were killed recently in Benghazi which makes it the only memorial to include their names anywhere in the country. If you are interested in having a name placed on the memorial please contact Gene at one of the following www.saltoftheearthusa.org, 941-388-8063 (Office) or 770-330-7683 (Cell).
Bike Events
AMVETS Post #301 (2443 US Highway 301 N, Ellenton) will hold a fundraiser benefit to support Manasota Operation Troop Support and the Honor Flight of Southwest Florida on December 8th from1 PM until 6 PM. It will be an old-fashioned hog roast with corn on the cob and lots of live music.
God Bless America and all those who serve in uniform.
Terry Longpre