Veteran Retiree Envisioned 'Never Forget' Garden In Doylestown

DOYLESTOWN, PA — Pine Run Retirement Community marked Veterans Day this November with events including the dedication of a "Never Forget" Garden, part of a nationwide initiative to plant gardens and place specially made markers to recognize, remember and honor U.S. veterans.

Pine Run resident Thomas J. Barnett, a veteran himself, first approached Pine Run administrators about the Never Forget Garden in 2019. Barnett served as a guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in 1953 and 1954 and is a life member of the tomb’s Society of the Honor Guard, which first proposed the nationwide Never Forget Garden project.

“The Never Forget Garden is really based on the tomb guards’ motto,” said Barnett. “We have a motto that says, ‘A soldier never dies until he is forgotten. Tomb guards never forget.’”

The Never Forget Garden initiative gained steam as the Society of the Honor Guard organized events for 2021 to mark the 100th anniversary of the tomb’s creation. Ohio-based stone sculpture company Carruth Studio was commissioned to create a marker for the project.

The stone marker reads, “This garden is a living tribute to all of America’s veterans and their families. In silence and respect, this is a place to remember why millions of Americans have fought and died for our liberty and our freedom. Here we renew our promise to fulfill America’s sacred duty to never forget. Here we renew our mutual pledge to support them with: ‘our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.’”

Planning for Pine Run’s Never Forget Garden began in May of 2019 and carried on throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Barnett headed a project committee that included Pine Run staff members and residents — some veterans, some not.

Several people donated their talents to the project, including Pine Run resident Derek Sutphin, a retired landscape architect who volunteered to design the garden, and Marc Stine, Pine Run’s Grounds Supervisor, who installed the plantings.

Pine Run’s Never Forget Garden expanded on an existing veterans’ memorial garden at the retirement community in Doylestown . Like most gardens, it is a work in progress. In summer 2020, seven river birch trees were planted to form the perimeter of the garden.

In fall 2020 and spring 2021, perennials were planted, chosen for their symbolic meaning from a list of plants recommended by the Society of the Honor Guard:

• Red roses: commitment
• White roses: purity
• Azaleas: innocence
• Peony: honor
• Primrose: eternal love
• Bellflower: gratitude
• Forget-me-not: remembrance
• Violets: faithfulness

When Stine was overseeing the final round of perennial plantings, he also added clusters of annuals in red, white and blue, to give the garden a pop of patriotic color.

“This was really a group effort,” said Barnett. “Each person contributed, and we all worked together to make it happen. It took longer than we expected, but it was worth it.”

Barnett and the other committee members hope many Pine Run residents and their families will visit the garden.

“This garden is not just for veterans. It’s a place of memories. Anyone can visit the garden and think of someone they might have lost,” Barnett said. “When they remember them, that keeps their memory alive. The person isn’t really dead because they are still being remembered.”

Pine Run also honored veterans with a special recognition breakfast held on Veterans Day at each location: independent living at The Village, personal care at Pine Run Lakeview, and skilled nursing and memory care at The Pine Run Health Center.

“From our annual veterans’ breakfasts to the veterans’ memorial at The Village to the Military Order of Pine Run, we are all committed to pausing to recognize the service and sacrifice of our Pine Run residents and associates who served in the military,” said Maria Santangelo, executive director of Pine Run Retirement Community. “We thank them for their dedication and devotion on Veterans Day and every day.”

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