Imagine having to spend Christmas facing the German army in 1944, away from family and a new baby boy and two other young children. That is the story Powell veteran Rodger Carter related about his father, Jean Bryant Carter, whose gravesite is at Crown Hill Cemetery in Powell. Carter came out to lay a wreath to honor his father whose gravestone lay covered with snow. He was the baby boy who luckily was able to see his father after the war.

Jean Carter served with the Third Battalion of the 357th Infantry Regiment, 90th Division in General Patton’s Third Army. He originally was in flight training, but when the 357th Regiment, also known as the Tough ‘Ombres, had significant casualties, he and other servicemen were sent to the front as replacements. He crossed the Rhine in January via rowboat to engage German troops during the Battle of the Bulge, one of the greatest battles of World War II.

Rodger looked up to his father and followed in his footsteps to enlist in the Army during the Vietnam War. He was deployed in 1964-65, working in communications and as a guard in Saigon. He noted how different it was when he came home from Vietnam to the many Americans who were angry about the war and treated those who served disrespectfully.

“No other veterans were treated like that,” he said. It wasn’t until the early 1990s that he was finally told “thank you for your service.”

Wreaths Across America annually honors veterans during the holiday season. Sponsors purchase wreaths and those wreaths are laid on veterans’ gravesites throughout the nation. This year, more that 2.7 million wreaths were laid in over 3,700 cemeteries throughout the United States.

There are well over 400 veterans buried at Crown Hill Cemetery in Powell. This year just under 100 were honored with a wreath. Community members came out to help the Yellowstone Regional Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol place the wreaths and their help was greatly appreciated. Maynard Brown came out in full military dress to honor some friends and help lay additional wreaths.

The squadron has been helping to honor Crown Hill veterans for the past few years and each year a few more grave sites are adorned with a wreath. They hope to change that for 2023, but desperately need community help to do so. Wreaths Across America is helping with that change by offering a matching wreath for each $15 wreath sponsored through a designated location. Community members can sponsor one or more wreaths with a secure credit card payment at the following link: wreathsacrossamerica.org/WY0005P  Scroll down on this page to see the two cemeteries the squadron sponsors — Crown Hill in Powell and Riverside in Cody.  A portion of each wreath sponsorship comes back to the squadron to help pay for aerospace activities, cadet supplies, scholarships, training items and other expenses.

Sponsors can also designate a specific veteran to be honored in Powell or Cody through this site. An individualized wreath will be laid on those graves during the Wreath Across America’s annual ceremony day on Dec. 16, 2023.

Sponsors not able to purchase online can call or email the squadron commander, Lt Col BJ Carlson, at 307-762-3536 or capcommander@gmail.com  Details will be worked out on getting the wreaths ordered before the end of the day Jan. 17 and specific grave requests can also be made.

Thank you in advance to all community members who help us reach our 2023 goal.  Who is up to the challenge to honor the more than 400 veterans in Powell and the over 900 in Cody?  Together we can make it happen!