BIEHLE — Each year, Buchheit stores and divisions participate in Wreaths Across America.
“Their mission, to Remember, Honor and Teach, is carried out by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery, as well as at more than 3,400 additional locations in all 50 U.S. states, at sea and abroad.”
Buchheit Logistics team members, members of the Buchheit family, and Buchheit Corporate team members pose with wreath transportation drivers, Jacky Bratton and Vincent Jordon, and Wreaths Across America wreaths.
Each year, Buchheit Logistics, along with its retail and other divisions participate in Wreaths Across America. Their mission, to Remember, Honor and Teach, is carried out by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery, as well as at more than 3,400 additional locations in all 50 U.S. states, at sea and abroad.
Wreaths Across America began when a man named Morrill Worcester of Harrington, Maine, owner of Worcester Wreath Company, visited Arlington National Cemetery in our nation’s capital for the first time. He was in awe of what he saw there, and his experience made an everlasting impression.
Several years later, Worcester began sending each state seven wreaths, one for each military branch and for POWs/MIAs (Prisoners of War/Missing in Action). “In 2007, the Worcester family, along with veterans, and other groups and individuals who had helped with their annual veterans wreath ceremony in Arlington, formed Wreaths Across America, a non-profit 501-(c)(3) organization.”
Since 2015, Buchheit has participated in Wreaths Across America, delivering a total of 65,000 wreaths to various veteran cemeteries in the area.
This year, Buchheit Logistics, the regional leader in transportation and warehousing, and their sponsor, Cline Wood Insurance Agency, in conjunction with the Buchheit Family Foundation have donated the transportation of two truckloads, approximately 10,000 wreaths.
Retired US Navy Operations Specialist (Surface Warfare) Chief Petty Officer Jacky Bratton, and US Navy Veteran Vincent Jordan, were chosen to represent Buchheit Logistics in this year’s efforts to honor our fallen veterans.
Jacky Bratton is from Rockwood, Tenn. and has been an independent contractor, pulling hopper-bottoms under Buchheit Logistics’s DOO program since 2018. He recently sold his truck and now drives a Buchheit Logistics green truck as a company Over-the-Road driver. Bratton who has served a variety of duty stations both at sea and ashore, throughout his 20-year naval career spanning from 1988 through 2008. He started his career at boot camp in San Diego, Calif. then was sent to USS McKee AS-41 and deployed for the Persian Gulf War. He ended his career at Navy Expeditionary Combat Command. The NECC is responsible for organizing, manning, training, equipping, and sustaining the Navy Expeditionary Combat Force (NECF) to execute combat, combat support, and combat service support missions across the full spectrum of naval, joint, and combined operations which enable access from the sea and freedom of action throughout the sea-to-shore and inland operating environments. Jacky is very proud to have the honor to serve his country for over 20 years.
Vincent Jordan is a US Navy veteran, and is from Gordonville, Mo. He has been part of the Buchheit Team since 2020 and works for the local End-dump fleet hauling fracking sand to the Mississippi River to be transported by barge to various locations throughout the nation. Vincent comes from a long line of veterans, including his father and uncle who served in Vietnam and brother who served in Iraq. Vincent served as a Damage Controlman stationed aboard the USS Klakring FFG-42, a guided missile frigate based out of Charleston, SC from 1988 through 1990. Vincent has also served as a volunteer firefighter since leaving the Navy in 1900 and has driven tractor-trailers over-the-road for nearly 25-years.
Making the delivery to Missouri’s National Veterans Memorial is former Army National Guard member Corrie Shemonic, who served in Perryville, Mo. Bravo Company 1140th Combat Engineers from 1999 to 2007. She did one tour of duty in Iraq from 2004-2005. Corrie wears a medal worn by her grandfather in Germany at the end of WWII. It was given to her by her grandmother before Corrie deployed for Iraq. She hasn’t taken it off since that day.
Jacky Bratton left Monday, December 5, 2022, to pick up the first load of wreaths in Columbia Falls, ME and brought them to Scott City. Vincent Jordon departed on December 12, 2022, to pick up the second load of wreaths in Saint Louis, Mo. The trailers delivered their wreaths to Mounds City, Ill. and Bloomfield, Mo. on December 17th. Jacky was amazed at the attention the limited-edition Wreaths Across America trailer drew from both the public and fellow veterans.
The Buchheit family and team believe that freedom is not free. Our freedom is preserved for us by the many men and women who bravely served our country. The dedication and service of our veterans should never be taken for granted.
The Buchheit Family of Companies have been serving the community since 1934. Buchheit Logistics has become the number one independent logistics corporation in the region with a network connecting continents around the globe. Currently Buchheit Retail operates 20 stores – Jonesboro, Paragould, and Pocahontas in Arkansas, Centralia, Greenville, Jacksonville and Sparta in Illinois, Blue Springs, Columbia North, Columbia South, Fulton, Herculaneum, House Springs, Jackson, Jefferson City, Kirksville, and Perryville in Missouri and Beatrice and North Platte in Nebraska. Buchheit features merchandise for the home, garden, and farm that is geared toward exploring the possibilities of a simpler life.