WRITTEN BY KATIE SMITH
This fall, Maine’s first Woody Williams Gold Star Family Memorial Monument was unveiled in the Balsam Valley Tip Lands, located in Columbia Falls. Owned by Morrill Worcester, the co-founder of Wreaths Across America (WAA), this land is where balsam trees are grown and harvested to produce millions of remembrance wreaths for veterans’ graves across the nation.
The Woody Williams Foundation, named in honor of Medal of Honor Recipient Hershel “Woody” Williams, works to establish permanent Gold Star Families Memorial Monuments in communities throughout the United States. Gold Star Families are those related to a U.S. military service member who died while serving.
Worcester and WAA executive director Karen Worcester both spoke at the event about the deep honor they felt to house Maine’s first-ever Woody Williams Gold Star Families Memorial Monument. Gold Star mothers and committee members Dolly Sullivan and Lorna Harris made an honorary wreath placement during the event.
“We were incredibly honored to have two Maine Gold Star Families participate as acting members of the planning committee: Dolly and Jim Sullivan, proud Gold Star parents of Capt. Christopher J. Sullivan, KIA Baghdad, Iraq, Jan. 18, 2005, and Lorna Harris, proud Gold Star mother of SPC Dustin J. Harris, KIA Bayji, Iraq, April 6, 2006. We were grateful to hear their stories and carry on their legacy,” said Amber Caron, WAA staff member and volunteer chairperson of the Woody Williams Gold Star Families Memorial Monument Planning Committee.
“We wanted to create a permanent place in Maine, WAA’s home, where their sacrifice, and the lives and service of their loved ones would always be remembered,” Caron said. “The Woody Williams Foundation’s Gold Star Families Memorial Monument offers a meaningful way to make that commitment tangible and lasting.”
The hope is that the monument becomes a place for reflection and learning, explained Caron.
“We at WAA believe that it is our responsibility not only to remember those who have served and sacrificed but also to teach future generations why this service matters,” Caron said. “We hope that young people visit, ask questions, and learn stories of our nation’s heroes and Gold Star Families. This monument is not simply a structure, but a place where legacy lasts and our American Heroes are remembered.”
People of all ages are encouraged to visit, ask questions, and really get to know the stories of service members and their families who have sacrificed so much.