This year's weather for Wreaths Across America had to be the worst ever. Driving down from Philly through a freezing rain storm. When I got to Baltimore there was a major accident and had to reroute my way. Once in DC at the circle leading to Arlington all traffic was at a stand still. Arlington normally opened at 8 am and the wreath truck caravan arrives around 9 AM with opening ceremonies at 10 AM. A police officer was telling everyone that Arlington would not open until 9 AM because of the weather conditions, so please leave and come back!

So my thoughts were to drive over to Fort Myer and enter Arlington from the base Chapel entrance. There was no opening ceremonies because of the icy, slushy snow all over, pretty scary walking around until noon time when the sun finally come out.

This happy little guy has placed his wreath at the grave of SFC. Robert C. Hayes. A Veteran of World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Robert rest in Section 32 Grave 50.

Once again security was on guard to help and protect

Many of the volunteers head for Section 60 where many of our Iraq, Afghanistan fallen rest

Black Hawk Helicopter Crash Kills 14 U.S. Soldiers in Iraq
It was one of two helicopters on a nighttime operation. The four crew members and 10 passengers who perished were assigned to Task Force Lightning
Killed were the following soldiers assigned to the 4th Squadron, 6th U.S. Air Cavalry Regiment, Fort Lewis, Washington: CaptainCorry P. Tyler, 29, of Georgia. Chief Warrant Officer Paul J. Flynn, 28, of Whitsett, North Carolina. Sgt. Matthew L. Tallman, 30, of California. SPC Rickey L. Bell, 21, of Missouri.
Also killed were the following soldiers assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii:
Captain Derek A. Dobogai, 26, of Wisconsin. SSGT. Jason L. Paton, 25, of California. Sgt. Garrett I. McLead, 23, of Texas. Cpl Jeremy P. Bouffard, 21, of Massachusetts. Cpl. Phillip J. Brodnick, 25, of Illinois. Cpl. Joshua S. Harmon, 20, of Ohio. Cpl. Nathan C. Hubbard, 21, of California. SPC. Michael A. Hook, 25, of Pennsylvania. SPC. Jessy G. Pollard, 22, of Missouri. SPC. Tyler R. Seideman, 20, of Arkansas.

Jon Cavaiani, a retired Army sergeant major and former prisoner of war who was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1974 for fending off an overwhelming number of enemy soldiers in Vietnam while allowing most of his men to escape, died on July 29, 2014 in Stanford, CA.

Today, I placed a wreath on the Grave of an American Hero.
If you forget my death, then I died in vain!

SPC. Toccara R. Green, 23, of Rosedale, Maryland, died on August 14, 2005, in Al Asad, Iraq, where multiple improvised explosive devices detonated near her unit during convoy operations. Green was assigned the Army's 57th Transportation Company, 548th Corps Support Battalion, Fort Drum, New York. She is believed to be Maryland's first woman killed in combat in Iraq.

Chief Special Warfare Operator Bradley S. Cavner of Coronado died from injuries sustained during a training jump. The decorated combat veteran is survived by his parents, sister and two brothers.

SPC Daniel “Lucas” Elliott, 21, of Youngsville, North Carolina, died July 15, 2011, in Basra, Iraq, when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 290th Military Police Brigade, 200th Military Police Command, Cary, North Carolina.

Marine Corps Pfc. Wilbur C. Mattern, 23, of Oelwein, Iowa died on the second day of the battle for Tarawa, Nov. 21, 1943. Mattern was assigned to Company M, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, which landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, in an attempt to secure the island.

In June 2015, a nongovernmental organization, History Flight, Inc., notified DPAA that they discovered a burial site on Betio Island and recovered the remains of what they believed were 35 U.S. Marines who fought during the battle in November 1943. The remains were turned over to DPAA in July 2015.

In November 1943, U.S. Marine Corps Private First Class Anthony Brozyna, 22, of Hartford, Connecticut was assigned to Company G, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, which landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, in an attempt to secure the island. Over several days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and Sailors were killed and
more than 2,000 were wounded, but the Japanese were virtually annihilated.
Brozyna died on the first day of the battle, Nov. 20, 1943..

In 2015, a nongovernmental organization, History Flight, Inc., notified the official Defense organization, DPAA, that a burial site was discovered on the island and the NGO had recovered what they believed to be 35 sets of remains believed to be United States Marines from the Battle of Tarawa.

Travis Manion ~ Brendan Looney “If Not Me, Then Who?

L/Cpl Terry E. Honeycutt Jr., 19, of Waldorf, Maryland, died October 27, 2010, from wounds received Oct. 21 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

L/Cpl Nicholas S. O’Brien, 21, of Stanley, North Caroloina, died June 9, 2011 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, IMarine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, California.

Kneeling is Joseph Francis Dunford Jr. a United States Marine Corps general, currently the 19th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Paying his respects to 1st Lt. Patrick Lee Smith aka “Infidel” served with distinction throughout his 20 year military career from June 1987 to June 2010, enlisting in the Pa Army National Guard in 1987, and the in the United States Marine Corps in 1989. He was deployed with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit to Bosnia 1995-96. He also served in Paculpa, Peru, later in 1996. In 1998 he was reassigned to Marine Air Control Squadron 24 at Willow Grove Air Station. In addition to his 2 tours in Bosnia with the Marine Corps, he also served 2 tours in Iraq with the US Army. He has been nominated for the Legion of Merit Award and was awaiting the award of the Purple Heart for wounds received in action.

1st Lt. Kenneth Michael Ballard, 26, of Mountain View, California, died May 30 in Najaf, Iraq, during a firefight with insurgents. Lieutenant Ballard was assigned to the Army’s 2nd Battalion, 37th Armored Regiment, 1st Armored Division, from Friedburg, Germany.
Ken Ballard, a 26-year-old tank platoon leader who spent a little more than a year in Iraq, was the kind of son "everyone should have,'' his mother said. The two chatted - online or over the phone -- almost every day. "Ken was an only child. I was a single mom. He knew how important it was for me to hear from him,'' said his mother, Karen Meredith of Mountain View.

Cpl. Michael J. Crescenz is the Only Philadelphia native to be awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War. Senate bill ( S. 229 of the 113th Congress ) was enacted after being signed by the President on December 16, 2014.

A bill to designate the medical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs located at 3900 Woodland Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the "Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center".

David Charles Dolby aka "Mad Dog," as he was known to his Army comrades -- was a solid 6-footer who wrestled and played football in high school. He enlisted in the Army at 18 and became an Army Ranger and a member of the Green Berets. He was known to scout the jungle ahead of the other men, toting his heavy M60 machine gun like a rifle.
On May 21, 1966, his platoon came under heavy fire which killed six soldiers and wounded a number of others, including the platoon leader. Throughout the ensuing four-hour battle, Dolby led his platoon in its defense, organized the extraction of the wounded, and directed artillery fire despite close-range attacks from enemy snipers and automatic weapons. He single-handedly attacked the hostile positions and silenced three machine guns, allowing a friendly force to execute a flank attack.
Dolby was subsequently promoted to Sergeant and awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the battle. The medal was formally presented to him by President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 28, 1967.

Lieutenant General John Archer Lejeune (luh-jern), 13th Commandant of the Marine Corps, was born at Pointe Coupee, Louisiana, on 10 January 1867. Lieutenant General Lejeune died 20 November 1942 at the Union Memorial Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, and was interred in the Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. Today, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, bears his name and he is often referred to as "the greatest of all Leathernecks," having served more than 40 years with the Marine Corps.

Spc. Michael L. Stansbery, Jr., 21, of Mount Juliet, Tenn.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; died July 30 near Kandahar, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. Also killed was Sgt. Kyle B. Stout.

Marine Sgt. Daniel M. Vasselian, 27, of Abington, Mass.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died December 23, 2013 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

Wreaths Across America wreath to be placed at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

Gold Star Parents Mike and Tammy Stansbery place wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns for Wreaths Across America. Mike is a Desert Storm Marine Veteran. Their son, Spc. Michael L. Stansbery, Jr. is buried in Arlington's Section 60.

Taps are played and a final salute.