Wyn Delano
WMAL.com
ARLINGTON, VA — (WMAL) In 2011, Ami Nieburger-Miller visited Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day.
She was on her way to visit her brother’s grave site – in section sixty – when she encountered a bit of kindness on an otherwise somber day:
“The first time I met the Foundation was when they offered me a rose to place on [my brother’s] grave on memorial day. I was really touched that these people were there, that they were giving out flowers to people coming in to Arlington and encouraging them to place flowers for our late veterans,” she said.
To Ami, such a seemingly simple act had deep emotional meaning,
“My brother, Chris, was 22 years old when he was killed in combat in Iraq almost 10 years ago now, and it seems like a lot of people have forgotten him. While our lives are going forward his life stopped…but its always very meaningful to know that someone else is coming to pay their respects.”
Fast forward to today, and Ami is the spokesperson for the Memorial Day Flowers Foundation, the same one that gave her that rose 6 years ago.
She explains that the foundation is dedicated to upholding a “historic tradition that goes back many, many years over the decades where the public would go to cemeteries and place flowers on Memorial Day on the graves of our late veterans and service-members who’ve died.”
Upholding that seemingly simple tradition, however, is no easy task.
“Last year we placed about 130,000 flowers just at Arlington National Cemetery, and also at eight other cemeteries around the country.” Ms. Nieburger-Miller explained.
This year, they are expanding to 17 additional cemeteries and are expecting to place over 300,000 flowers.
The mere logistics alone can seem daunting, with the Foundation hiring out a “super-cooled” semi-truck from Miami to bring many of the roses.
“Its quite a sight to see, and its surprising because you realize these flowers have been grown from all around the world and they are coming here to honor our veterans and service members who have died,” she said
As with many charitable operations at this scale, sponsors do cover some of the cost.
However, many of the resources for this project, both financial and otherwise come from the goodwill of ordinary people.
This year is especially difficult, Ami says, since Mother’s day falls close to Memorial day, straining the supply of flowers available. Also, due to bad weather during the growing season, there have been fewer flowers available than usual.
According to Ms. Nieburger-Miller the best thing to do if you want to help is to visit their website, memorialdayflowers.org where you can either donate or sign up to be a volunteer.
While the Foundation is full up with over 900 volunteers for the flower laying this Sunday, they are still searching for people to help with the cleanup effort on June 3rd.
And while most will be celebrating the holiday by taking the day off barbecuing and spending time with friends and family, those who want to observe the more historic meaning of memorial day are encouraged, Ami says, to sign up or simply just place a flower at a grave:
“We encourage each person placing a flower to stop at the grave site, read the name, take a look at the dates of death and birth and what’s on that gravestone and place their flower and pause for a moment to remember that person before they move on to the next grave site.”
And that simple act of remembrance – symbolized by an ordinary flower – may be the key to an extraordinary Memorial Day.
To make a donation or volunteer in the effort, please go to memorialdayflowers.org.
Copyright 2017 WMAL.com All Rights Reserved. (PHOTO: Memorial Day Flowers Foundation)
