Several weeks ago I posted a blog about the 2026 theme for Wreaths Across America, scheduled for Saturday Dec. 19: “Remember Me: Stories From the Home Front.” The idea is to ensure that the individual names, families, and sacrifices of our veterans are not just recognized collectively at the Wreaths Across America ceremony, but also remembered personally.
To support this effort, local Wreaths Across America Coordinator Cherie Wood would like to share your veterans’ stories. She wants to hear from anyone who has a tie to Webster — either the veteran or the person submitting the story — about your service or the service of a veteran family member or friend. The stories don’t have to be about local soldiers, or someone who died in battle. They can be from recent conflicts or from long ago.
In that original blog, I started the ball rolling with a story about my paternal grandfather, Orville William Best, from Kansas City, Missouri, who fought in WWI. Just eight days before the end of the fighting in Europe, he was injured in a mustard gas attack by the Germans, and suffered a machine gun wound to the stomach.
Recently, local Wreaths coordinator received another story, from Kathy Hertzel.
Kathy wrote,
My father was William (Bill) Hertzel who served in the Pacific Theater during WW II. He and my mother were married on November 21, 1941, 17 days before the attack on Pearl Harbor. He subsequently was drafted and left in March 1942. He was 27 years old and would be gone until December 1945.
My father was a sergeant in the Army’s 77th Infantry Division, 305th Battalion and fought on various islands including Leyte and was a part of Operation Iceberg which was the invasion of Okinawa. He did not say much to me about his wartime experiences but would tell me how he used flame throwers into the caves and how horrible that was.
My father was awarded the Bronze Star for the battle of Okinawa. Like other soldiers he brought several souvenirs home, taken from fallen Japanese soldiers. One was a Japanese flag which was worn around a soldier’s waist, on which was the soldier’s name and well wishes. I was able to return the flag to that soldier’s family in 2002 with the help of a colleague in locating the family.
As well as my father’s service, his father fought in the Spanish American War and his grandfather in the Civil War including at Appomattox.
Now it’s your turn. This year, let’s do more than just remember the battles that were fought. Let’s really try to remember the individual soldiers who sacrificed so many things when they were fighting for our country. If you’d like to submit a story for this inspirinng Webster project, email your story to WebsterWreaths@icloud.com, including where the veteran served, when, and include a photo or video if possible.
Now here’s another way you can help:
Cherie is looking for people in the Webster community who would like to help collect these stories. Someone who would enjoy interviewing veterans, their spouses and families — basically, chat with people who don’t have access to computers, but would like to share their stories. Think about, perhaps, residents at senior care facilities who would have trouble typing up their story and wouldn’t have a clue how to upload a photo.
If we’re going to do a good job of capturing our veterans’ stories, we’re going to need some help. If you’re interested, email Cherie Wood at WebsterWreaths@icloud.com.
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(posted 2/26/2026)
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