Holiday wreaths return to Gettysburg cemetery
Effort inspired by local soldier killed in the line of duty
(Gettysburg, Pennsylvania) - 11/23/2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE …
CONTACT:
Stan Clark
Sgt. Mac Foundation
(717) 337-1728
Five hundred holiday wreaths will be placed on graves at Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pa., this December as part of an organization’s ongoing effort to honor veterans.
The Sgt. Mac Foundation, a group formed to honor Gettysburg native U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Eric McColley, began the program – along with McColley’s parents – in 2006 in Quantico, Va., where McColley is interred. Last year, the program expanded to include 500 wreaths in Gettysburg.
McColley was killed along with seven other U.S. Marines and two airmen in a helicopter accident in the Horn of Africa on Feb. 17, 2006.
On Dec. 4, the Sgt. Mac Foundation will return to Gettysburg and with the help of community members throughout the region, the organization will again place 500 wreaths on the graves of U.S. veterans buried in the Soldiers’ National Cemetery.
The goal of the Sgt. Mac Foundation is to eventually raise enough money to place a wreath on every gravesite in the Gettysburg cemetery. This year, the cost for 500 wreaths is almost $20,000.
Donations are urgently needed to continue and expand this program. To make a donation, contributions should be made out to Sgt. Mac Foundation, Attn: Stan Clark, 915 Fairview Ave., Gettysburg, PA 17325.
Volunteers will meet Friday at the Giant Food Store along Route 30 in Gettysburg at 8 a.m. to tie bows on the wreaths. The wreaths will be placed on the graves at 12:45 p.m. at the Soldiers’ National Cemetery off Taneytown Road in Gettysburg. The public is encouraged to help and attend.
More information can be found at www.sgtmac.org.
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