Staff Writer
CARIBOU — For the fifth consecutive year, volunteers participated in the annual Wreaths Across America Ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 11 at the Maine Veterans’ Cemetery in Caribou to honor the deceased soldiers.
Aroostook Republican photo/Natalie BazinetSeven ceremonial wreaths were laid before the American Flag at the Caribou Maine Veterans’ Cemetery on Dec. 11. Saluting wreaths honoring the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, Merchant Marines and POW/MIA soldiers were, from left, Darrell Rouse, Linwood Lord, Kevin St. Pierre, Carroll St. Peter, John Noble, Phil Bosse and Carol Adams.
“We are here today at this memorial site and memorial sites all across America to remember that we are one nation with one flag,” said Andre Dumas, State Adjunct for the Maine VFW and Post Adjunct for the Caribou VFW. “The freedoms we enjoy today have not come without a price; lying here before us and in cemeteries throughout this nation are men and women who gave their lives so that we can live in freedom and without fear.”
Seven ceremonial wreaths were placed before the flag by veterans and volunteers, representing each branch of the military and one wreath honoring POW/MIA soldiers. The ceremony, orchestrated through the Caribou VFW, was one of many throughout the nation that day.
Though the ceremony clearly carried a somber tone, Dumas was pleased to see people gathering to observe the ceremony and to honor the veterans.
Natalie Bazinet
Kevin St. Pierre placed a ceremonial wreath honoring Marines at the base of the flag at the Caribou Maine Veterans Cemetery.
