Police Escort Sacred Motorcade to Arlington

Lt. Wayne Tripp and Officer James Barth, members of the motorcycle unit, assisted in providing a police motorcycle escort for the Wreaths Across America convoy traveling through Central Massachusetts yesterday.

Tripp and Barth, along with other select motorcycle officers escorted 14 tractor-trailer trucks carrying thousands of wreaths, assembled in Maine, that are being transported to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. The wreaths will be laid at the tombstones of veterans in Arlington and other veteran’s cemeteries.

Wreaths Across America is a nonprofit organization founded to continue and expand the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery begun in 1992 by Maine businessman Morrill Worcester.

The group's mission, Remember, Honor, Teach, is carried out in part by coordinating wreath laying ceremonies on the second Saturday of December at Arlington, as well as veterans’ cemeteries and other locations in all 50 states and beyond. 

The group also organizes a week of events, including international veteran’s tributes, ceremonies at statehouses and a week-long “veteran’s parade” between Maine and Virginia, where representatives stop along the way to spread a  message about the importance of remembering fallen heroes, honoring those who serve, and teaching children about the sacrifices made by veterans and their families to preserve freedom.