A legacy to honor veterans
American Legion member Tony Venetz was determined to build a legacy to honor his son, Anthony Venetz, an Army Green Beret who was killed 12 years ago.
“I wanted to build a legacy for him and I started at Arlington,” said Venetz, an Air Force veteran whose son is buried at the national cemetery there.
The mission gained momentum when Venetz joined American Legion Post 71 in North Augusta, S.C., and connected with Ralph Wainwright, who was post commander at the time. A few years later, they conducted their first Wreaths Across America (WAA) event with about 200 wreaths at one cemetery.
Now, their efforts have boosted that total to more than 4,000 wreaths being laid in South Carolina and Georgia on the annual Wreaths Across America Day. Post 71 remains a core participant, sponsoring three of the 38 cemeteries where Venetz’s group lays wreaths.
Their effort was magnified across the United States on Dec. 17 as volunteers honored veterans by placing wreaths at about 2.7 million gravesites in 3,702 locations on Wreaths Across America Day.
The Venetz-Wainwright team kicked off the day with a ceremony at Sunset Memorial Gardens in Graniteville, S.C. At the ceremony, Army Capt. Rebecca Harr spoke about the true meaning of the wreaths.
“We are not here to decorate graves. We are not here to mourn their deaths. We are here to celebrate their lives,” she told the crowd of hundreds of community members before the wreaths were laid.
People travel from throughout South Carolina, as well as Georgia and Alabama, for the ceremonies. Among those in attendance were Fort Gordon troops, Junior ROTC members, Boy Scouts and other youth groups.
Wainwright, who served in the Army from 1969-1993, highlighted the importance of the teaching aspect.
“We try to get our youth involved,” he said. “It’s to remember, honor and teach. We want our veterans to be remembered. We don’t want them to be forgotten. With our youth, we try to get them to participate in the program so they understand what our veterans did and the sacrifices they made, and to honor their memory.”
Reflecting back, Wainwright is proud of how the event has grown.
“I think it’s awesome. Getting the community involved kind of gets you in the chest,” he said, pointing to his heart. “To see all the people in the community come out and support this program really makes you feel good. It’s really rewarding.”
Venetz is driven to do more. Part of his outreach efforts are to complete all the goals of the WAA mission.
“The mission of Wreaths is to honor and remember but also to teach,” he said, noting some local cemeteries date back to the 17th century. “We have a lot of history here. One of our cemeteries has Col. John Hammond of the Continental Army. To me that is our history, that is our foundation. It’s the cornerstone. Hopefully, people will see the difference between this and Veterans Day and Memorial Day. They are different causes. This honors everybody who ever wore the uniform and took the oath to protect our country.”
Ann Edler was among hundreds who came out to lay wreaths. Her thoughts were with her late husband, William, a veteran who served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam as an Army intelligence officer.
“I’m here for the same reason everybody else is,” she said. “Remembrance. Love. Honor. Respect. I’m so grateful for God and for all those who have died for us.”
Michael Strauss, a member of Post 71 and department adjutant, likened the effort to The American Legion preamble line related to honor and remembrance, “To preserve the memories and incidents of our associations in all wars.”
“We’re really happy about the local post here and the community spirit,” he said. “There is nothing better than a Wreaths Across America event to show that spirit.”
Strauss noted the selfless service of the Legionnaires not just on the annual wreath-laying day, but throughout the year to ensure the event’s success.
“The work that Tony and Ralph have done in this community is impressive,” he said. “They work behind the scenes to make sure this happens. This is no small task. Getting a wreath for every servicemember is important to their families. Their spirit is undaunting.”
For his part, Venetz is driven to continue growing the event.
“I hope he’s proud,” he said of his son. “He was highly decorated. He was a great solider. Whenever he deployed, he said, ‘My goal is not only to come home, but to bring my team home.’ I’m sure he’s happy and proud that we are covering as many of his brothers and sisters as we can.”