Wreaths Radio's Holiday Greetings To And From Our Troops 2020


Long before any pandemic, our military and their families have endured the pain of separation during the holidays. The song, Snow at Arlington, written and performed by Don Campbell, explains it best. “You can bet that they all tried to do their best to make it home at Christmastime, but there was work left to be done. Protecting freedom often takes away loved ones…”

During this time of year when families have empty seats at their tables and deployed troops are missing home, Wreaths Across America Radio airs Holiday Greetings To and From Our Troops, brought to you by the American Ex-Prisoners of War (AXPOW).

The “Holiday Greetings” program provides American military families and civilians the opportunity to extend holiday greetings and thanks to service members and veterans through our international internet radio station at https://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/radio (hashtag #WreathsRadio.) Last year, messages connected many families from all over the globe.

“The United States currently has 1.3 million active-duty members, reservists, and guards serving within our borders and abroad. Additionally, more than 24 million veterans have faithfully served our country in the past,” said Karen Worchester, Wreaths Across America Executive Director. “I am honored and thrilled to be able to offer these soldiers and their families the opportunity to share their Holiday greetings on air. It’s especially important for sharing love and support for their sacrifices at this special time of the year.”

Anyone can participate by calling (833) 369-1351 to record a short holiday greeting. Wreaths Radio will play Holiday Greetings on-air during the holidays to help bring families, loved ones, members of our military, and American’s closer together for the holiday season. These special Messages will be broadcast between November 23 and December 31, 2020.

Wreaths Radio encourages you to support the wreath-laying efforts of the American Ex-Prisoners of War. The national organization for American citizens who were captured by the enemy. Membership is open to all former prisoners of war from any theater in any war, former civilian internees, and their families.

World War II - December 24, 1941. General MacArthur had designated Bataan as the center of American resistance to the Japanese invasion of the Philippines. On Christmas Eve, he ordered his forces to withdraw and prepare for a last stand. The conditions of the peninsula – jungle, swamp, and mountains – that were ideal for repelling the invaders, also made Bataan almost impossible to supply, and shortages of food and medicine plagued the forces throughout the siege.

Fierce Japanese assaults forced American and Filipino troops deeper into the jungles. When the U.S. ordered General MacArthur to leave the Philippines in March, his armies appeared to be holding the Japanese to a draw, but dwindling supplies of food and medical supplies weakened them. MacArthur insisted the Americans could hold out until May. They could not. April 9, 1942 was the Fall of Bataan and the capture of thousands of Americans.

On April 14, 1942, the Bataan Relief Organization was formed by the families of the captured soldiers. It became the American Ex-Prisoners of War in 1949 in order to welcome all POWs from ALL wars.

Seventy-eight years later, AXPOW is still living up to their motto: “We Exist to Help Those Who Cannot Help Themselves.”

Most of AXPOW’s financial support now goes to Andersonville National Historic Site and the National POW Museum in Andersonville, Georgia. They have a special connection to Andersonville. In the mid-1980s, they began raising funds for a museum to honor all former POWs and tell their story. Construction started on the National Prisoner of War Museum in 1996, and it was opened to the public on April 9, 1998. The Museum tells the story of Americans held as prisoners of war through exhibits containing artifacts, oral history interviews, and graphics.

From the Revolutionary War to our current conflicts, American prisoners of war have endured untold hardships and shown tremendous courage. Andersonville NHS commemorates the sacrifices of these brave Americans through exhibits in the National Prisoner of War Museum; preserves the site of Camp Sumter (Andersonville prison); and manages Andersonville National Cemetery. It is the only park in the National Park System to serve as a memorial to all American prisoners of war.  Congress stated in the authorizing legislation that this park's purpose is "to provide an understanding of the overall prisoner of war story of the Civil War, to interpret the role of prisoner of war camps in history, to commemorate the sacrifice of Americans who lost their lives in such camps, and to preserve the monuments located within the site.”

Wreaths Across America Radio is a 24/7 Internet stream. Its unique format offers a mix of country, rock, bluegrass, and Americana music interwoven with informational and inspiring content about members of the U.S. armed forces, their families, military veterans, and volunteers throughout the country and overseas who support the nonprofits’ mission to remember, honor and teach. www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/radio