Wreaths Across America at Neglected Veteran Headstones

Wreaths Across America volunteers are laying beautiful wreaths at neglected veteran headstones in local cemeteries. The logical preparation for wreath-laying at veteran graves is to properly clean the veteran headstone or grave marker. The veteran headstones should be properly cleaned prior to National Wreaths Across America Day which is the Saturday one week before Christmas. Trae Zipperer with By Memorial Day provides an example of a wreath placed at the neglected grave of United States Marine PFC Thomas Lee McGee who was Killed In Action in Vietnam on March 11, 1967. Trae Zipperer found the bronze veteran grave marker covered by weeds and dirt at Fort Myers Cemetery in Fort Myers, FL. A wreath had been placed by a Wreaths Across America volunteer earlier that day.
Cleaning every veteran headstone by Memorial Day is a perfect fit with laying wreaths across America, because every veteran of our past should have a clean headstone by Memorial Day and a remembrance wreath each Christmas. Visit ByMemorialDay.com to learn how to properly clean veteran headstones and grave markers.
Subscribe now ‪@theyfaceeast‬

[@billmccabe9601]

Thank you for your dedication to our Veterans.

[@brandoncarden]

Trae, I want to personally thank you not only for your fantastic work/efforts but for getting me started. I found your KZbin when I was wanting to clean my relatives markers, many of my granduncles were in WWII. But after doing more research on my family tree I found I had an infant uncle that passed in 1932 and looking for his marker has turned into me leading efforts on cleaning the abandoned Sattes Cemetery in North Charleston West Virginia!! There are civil war soldiers (union & confederate) WWI, WWII and Korean veterans buried there. I was shocked to see a marine that was killed In action during WWI there as well. I am doing my best to take care of everyone in the cemetery especially our veterans!! I have videos on my channel of this historic cemetery if anyone wants to see. Again thank you so much Trae, I wish you nothing but the best in life!!

[@theyfaceeast]

Great job Brandon! All we have to do is reach the Brandon Carden in Every Town, USA and we will reach our objective of cleaning every veteran headstone in America by Memorial Day.

[@brandoncarden]

@@theyfaceeast thank you Trae, definitely a lot easier said it done but maybe we can rub off on others with enough motivation! I was able to get a local KZbin film my cemetery this past weekend and I showed off as many veterans as I could. People keep stealing the flags which is just sad 😢 kzbin.info/www/bejne/iaqsmpuen6qqd80 Thanks again, I cant wait to see some new content from you when you get the chance 😀

[@theyfaceeast]

@@brandoncarden the missing flags is a head scratcher.

[@duckroost1513]

I’m a army vet. My son is a navy vet. The 17th in south Louisiana we will place wreaths on 9 in private cemetery’s. So those men will not be forgotten. Relatives and strangers will be honored.

[@theyfaceeast]

Thank you Duck Roost!

[@bgiardi]

Thank you sir!

[@johnmarquardt1991]

We've been placing Christmas wreaths on the graves of veterans in our church's cemetery for about 5 years now.

[@theyfaceeast]

Thanks to you and the other volunteers for placing the wreaths at veterans' graves!

[@Death_From_Below]

My VFW and American Legion in Poulsbo WA are placing wreaths at 2 cemeteries.

[@pennymaddy4510]

I need help with my uncles headstone. He was cremated and released out to sea, so the headstone stayed in my grandmothers garden until she passed and it came to my aunts. It’s a mess and when it was back in Florida the Marine symbol was stolen off of it. I’ve tried over the years to get a new one with no luck. I also don’t know how to clean the white part of the stone or the bronze that’s starting to oxidize a little. 😢😢 Thank you in advance.

[@HappierHeadstones]

I think a great starting place for the marker is The National Cementery Administration site. As far as cleaning, watch these u-tube viedos and you will be a pro in no time. Do keep in mind that the earlier ones are cleaned differently and as Trae learned more and more info became available he started using a different brush and also moved the flag from our right of the marker to our left, which is the Veterans right. It's a progression until perfection process. You will learn here though. Much luck to you!

[@havinfundoinnothin7476]

Thank you for cleaning the head stones for the vit that is so beautiful that you are doing that, I had had family members in the war

[@theyfaceeast]

Paying respects to our loved ones of the past is something we've slowly allowed to be lost during the past 60 years. Honoring the dead is a basic part of the human experience.

[@dan.kagamine]

Glad to see you again

[@theyfaceeast]

Thanks Dan. I had a busy personal year in 2022 and then our house flooded in Hurricane Ian. I actually shot some video footage but haven't had time to edit and post. I'm hopeful for 2023!

[@zentran2690]

HE'S BACK!

[@theyfaceeast]

I hope to make more progress for the cause of cleaning veteran headstones during 2023!

[@RobertWise-fh9ni]

Hello, have you been to Maryland yet? I have an individual gravesite care business; I started last march. I see a lot of neglected gravesites and its sad, when I care for a site, I look around when I'm finished, and it makes me sad.

[@kaycure8629]

A historical cemetery in my town has 3 different areas with veteran markers. The area with Vietnam and some ww2 flat markers is a huge disgrace. Almost completely covered with grass and weeds. BUT....THEY WON'T ALLOW ANYONE TO CLEAN THEM!

[@theyfaceeast]

What is the name of your town? What is the name of the cemetery?

[@andrealopresti9408]

Hope all is well! Are you posting more videos?

[@janetmertz1740]

Trey, glad to see you again! From a long line of veterans( missing one generation to link to Revolutionary War) and legal active ancestors. I have a local church to take of once retired (age 67 now). However, I saw a disturbing you- tube video of transport of flags between offices by the AOC. As a kid living in London, UK during the mid '60's I did my fair share of running, hopping buses while being chased by British school age bullies because I am a born, bred US American during the Vietnam era all the while I had a brother serving on the USS Saratoga, deceased in 2000 as a Judge of 7th district NM. My brother was a Cub through Eagle Scout (as is my remaining brother)...Dad was a Scout Master. Enough of background. Everyday at work (1730) I turn to the closest sound of the National Anthem with hand over heart and sing ( off key I assure you) our National Anthem. I attest this is not a political statement, but I have a simple solution for Properly transport flags from office to office. I'd like your help for my simple design to honor our flag Thank you.

[@theyfaceeast]

Hi Janet. Forgive me but my brain isn't working correctly living here in the Hurricane Ian disaster zone. What is the AOC you refer to in your comment?

[@janetmertz1740]

AOC - Architect of the Capital. Some House Rep publically chastised another Rep that was moving either out or to another office she had no respect for her flags as they were in a tall kitchen trash can. It was explained the AOC was responsible for all movements in the Capital and this was their standard method of moving flags. I have an idea of moving flags in a more appropriate means. Since you have worked on an amendment to the flag rules (by the way how is that coming?). you could advise the best way to approach getting my idea to the right people for action. I hope you did not sustain any damage due to the Hurricane Ian. Happy Holiday Season.

[@HappierHeadstones]

Got my D2 & brush kit today, but I have no sprayer :( Hoping they will send me at least one for my 2 bottles. I wanted to clean this weekend and I know I won't find a decent sprayer!

[@X-OR_]

Yeoman's Job Sir.....

[@grimmudo4459]

Kannst mein Auto waschen 🤣 Gruß aus Brandenburg 🇩🇪 bleibt gesund ☘️

[@toddbonin6926]

Thank you for doing this. You brought tears to my eyes.

[@theyfaceeast]

I am grateful to my dad for introducing me to the graves of my ancestors and the human experience of cemetery etiquette.

[@starrystarrynight9822]

Can you or should you use a solution like d2 on these bronze markers?

[@theyfaceeast]

I don't know of any cleaning agent approved for use on bronze grave markers. I just use clean water. I've tried to interview Matthews, the company that manufactures bronze grave markers, but they never responded to my inquiries.

[@christopher3470]

Do you think a 12 year old could do this?

[@theyfaceeast]

Yes. We had a 5 year old volunteer cleaning veteran headstones.

[@Blazen747]

@@theyfaceeasthello there did you make any more cleaning headstones 🪦 videos this memorial weekend

[@catherineanhari7573]

.y dad and brother are at bay pines cemetery

[@martinmeade2860]

My Grandads grave thanks to you is looking much better in Warrington, Cheshire UK ,take care x

[@theyfaceeast]

I'm certain your Grandad is smiling from Heaven.

[@amandam5288]

I'm watching your graves cleaning videos and as a foreign viewer I feel like one thing should be pointed out. Every war has at least two sides. It would be way better to hear the message being spread to everyone, not just to the people in USA. I understand why you focus on that but I also think it is a bit of an understatement

[@theyfaceeast]

Good point Amanda. When I started this movement to clean veteran headstones, I just wanted to clean them in my own town. My city government rejected my request to clean veteran headstones, so I took it upon myself to do whatever was necessary to clean those stones. Then the thought crossed my mind, "If it's this difficult to obtain permission in my own town, it's probably the same difficulty in every town." So, I increased the scope of the mission to the entire United States. I hadn't even considered the thought that the internet is global. I began receiving comments from other countries around the world! I realized people in other countries loved their veterans as much as I love my veterans here in America. So yes, my videos are inspiring people around the world to clean the headstones of their military veterans. I have received comments from many, many, many different countries. I will keep in mind the idea of expanding the scope of my mission to include ALL veterans in every country around the world.

[@marine-kj4ct]

I was starting to wonder what happen to you sir

[@theyfaceeast]

Our home was destroyed by Hurricane Ian flood waters. It's been a difficult past 6.5 months. But we've made significant progress and I expect to have some free time to dedicate to veteran headstone cleaning by Memorial Day.

[@froyzenko]

Вы делаете важное дело. Помним Гордимся Чтим

[@ricj7517]

Please do more videos..Miss you 🇺🇲

[@theyfaceeast]

I have shot several videos, but have not yet found the time to edit them. Coming soon!

[@jwall62]

@@theyfaceeast Was just wondering if you were ok, I just retired and have adopted the local cemetery to clean all the veteran stones, they have a couple of thousand from all the wars.

[@theyfaceeast]

@@jwall62 I'm still alive! Thanks for asking. We lost our home and belongings in the flood waters of Hurricane Ian back in Sep 2022. Life stands still for at least 18 months following such a disaster with 100% of personal capacity filled with nothing but recovery efforts. I have videotaped some veteran headstone cleaning efforts, but I haven't had time to edit them for release on KZbin. Our home is now put back together, so I intend to dedicate some time to producing new videos. I also have a book being release on July 1st, so I'll be working on videos for that too. If you'd like to learn about the book visit TheyFaceEast.com where you can read Chapter 6. The book was written prior to cleaning the first veteran headstone, so I consider They Face East to be the prequel to By Memorial Day.

[@jwall62]

@@theyfaceeast so sorry to hear that, I hope everyone is safe. Thanks for all you have done.

[@garden2356]

❤😢❤

[@HappierHeadstones]

Is this all we can do for these bronze markers? My Dad and Brother's are the bronze ones, and 1 is 11 years old and the other is 1 yerar old. They are in great shape now, but I want to keep them looking like they do know.

[@jackdupont1883]

ever heard of mission restore bronze the give free bonze was to restore military markers like this.

[@laurieelderkin3897]

💖😊👍

[@aubreydowns8609]

Im from fort Myers. Me and my dad walk the cemeterys every few weeks wanna start cleaning them but dont know who to contact for permission

[@theyfaceeast]

Send me a message via VeteranGraves.com and I will put you in touch with the people who are working in Fort Myers. Dealing with the City of Fort Myers was not easy in the beginning. They did make me purchase liability insurance that cost me around $1,200 for example.

[@airtow6766]

First just want to say Good Luck to the people of Fort Myers and the islands that have been through such devastation recently. You have inspired many Americans to show that, some of us, still have pride and respect for our veterans, no matter what war they fought and died in. You are a good soul and deserve praise for what you've done to show what you can do, if you just "get up off your couch".

[@theyfaceeast]

Thank you. We lost our home to the flood waters of Hurricane Ian here in Fort Myers, FL. We are still in recovery mode putting our nest back together. I haven't had the capacity to do much more than rebuilding our home and selling real estate to pay for rebuilding our home. I did take the initiative to raise awareness for this cause this past week and will continue to do my best between now and Memorial Day 2023.

[@MGB-learning]

Outstanding work!

[@SamFBM]

wonderful work

[@ronnykoogler9003]

Thank You

[@SqueegeeHolic]

does d2 work granite stone?

[@theyfaceeast]

Yes

[@rexrabbiteer]

I support our veterans and appreciate what you do but I’m alittle iffy on vietnam vets mainly do to the amount of war crimes committed in that war. Who is to say that “Tom” didn’t open fire on civilians in the Mai lai massacre or elsewhere? Anyways, I don’t mean to be disrespectful but just something I think about in regards to vietnam vets

[@theyfaceeast]

Members of the military do their duty under extreme conditions including being shot at, or worse. War is beyond comprehension unless you've been there. And don't believe everything you hear. Do your own research and come to your own conclusions. Vietnam Veterans served their country no differently than any other group of veterans who served when their generation was called upon to water the tree of liberty with their blood. The context was different, but the men were cut from the same cloth.

[@samellowery]

Yeah because war crimes were only committed in the Vietnam conflict no others I look at it like this unless he was charged with war crimes then he was just a marine who did his duty and unfortunately died in a conflict the US should probably not of been in.