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<p>HANOVER TWP. &#8212; Hanover Green Cemetery is not just the oldest established cemetery in the Wyoming Valley, the historic burial ground predates the United States.</p><p>It was founded June 9, 1776, almost month before the Declaration of Independence was signed. And among those whose remains rest beneath the cemetery&#8217;s rolling green hills are more than 1,600 people who served in America&#8217;s armed forces from the American Revolution to the modern era.</p><p>Members of the Shawnee Fort Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, are looking to honor them by placing festive greenery on graves for National Wreaths Across America Day on Dec. 14.</p><p>The chapter is seeking volunteers to sponsor the wreaths &#8212; they&#8217;re $15 each &#8212; and to help place them on graves on the day of the ceremony.</p><p>&#8220;There are other DAR chapters in the area, and we&#8217;d love their support and participation &#8212; as well as the veterans groups, the Legions, anyone that wants to participate,&#8221; chapter member Kathleen Smith said Sunday as chapter members and cemetery volunteers gathered at Hanover Green&#8217;s Spanish-American War memorial to talk about the project.</p><p>Wreaths Across America coordinates wreath&#173;-laying ceremonies at more than 1,600 locations across the United States, at sea and abroad, <a href="https://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">according to the nonprofit group&#8217;s website</a>. There is no cost for groups to participate, except for obtaining wreaths.</p><p>Anyone wishing to volunteer or sponsor a wreath for Hanover Green can do so by visiting <a href="https://tinyurl.com/hanovergreenwreaths" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://tinyurl.com/hanovergreenwreaths</a>.</p><p>As part of the event, there also will be ceremonial wreaths laid in honor of the nation&#8217;s uniformed branches.</p><p>Cemetery Board Chairman Len Luba, a Vietam veteran who served in the Navy, will lay the wreath for his branch, while cemetery Treasurer Loren Keiser will lay the wreath honoring the Air Force, in which he served. Smith said a veteran of the former Women&#8217;s Army Corps will lay a wreath for the Army.</p><p>&#8220;Anyone sponsoring wreaths for this can designate at the cemetery who it&#8217;s for,&#8221; Luba said. &#8220;If they have a loved one buried here, their grave will be adorned with the wreath.&#8221;</p><p>Among the notable names at Hanover Green are Rufus Bennett, George Washington&#8217;s personal bodyguard, who was laid to rest here in 1842. A relative will be on hand to place a wreath, Smith said.</p><p>Also here is Lt. John Jameson, who survived the notorious Wyoming Massacre of 1778 but who was ambushed and scalped by British-allied natives in front of the cemetery in 1782.</p><p>Of course, the stones of Hanover Green are also engraved with the names of many who served within living memory.</p><p>Luba paused at a bronze plaque to talk about Wayne B. Wolfkeil from Hanover Township. A former Penn State football player, Wolfkeil was an Air Force pilot whose plane crashed in Laos in 1968 during the Vietnam War.</p><p>The 36-year-old aviator&#8217;s remains were never recovered, Luba said. A marker celebrating his life was placed in the cemetery in 1979, and family members dedicated a tree nearby earlier this year. Luba and Smith said they are hopeful Wolfkeil&#8217;s relatives will be able to attend the wreath-laying next month.</p><p>A member of the Shawnee Fort Chapter has participated with Wreaths Across America at Arlington National Cemetery since 2016, Smith said &#8212; while area Girl Scouts held their own tribute last year by creating about 50 wooden flag holders for Hanover Green, Luba added &#8212; but this is the first year the chapter and the cemetery have hosted the ceremony. Their goal for this year is 300 wreaths.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s great to do it all across the country, but we also wanted to do it here locally, at this historic cemetery, which is older than the country,&#8221; Smith said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Members and prospective members of the Shawnee Fort Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, together with Hanover Green Cemetery volunteers, gather at the Spanish-American War memorial in the cemetery on Sunday afternoon. From left are: Peg Makos, chapter Regent Karen Komorek, Vice Regent Janet Norton, Kathleen Smith, prospective member Sue Borum, cemetery Treasurer Loren Keiser, cemetery Secretary Jackie Keiser, cemetery Board Chairman Len Luba, Lorraine Smith, and chapter Secretary Ronalee Schall. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_cemetery2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Members and prospective members of the Shawnee Fort Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, together with Hanover Green Cemetery volunteers, gather at the Spanish-American War memorial in the cemetery on Sunday afternoon. From left are: Peg Makos, chapter Regent Karen Komorek, Vice Regent Janet Norton, Kathleen Smith, prospective member Sue Borum, cemetery Treasurer Loren Keiser, cemetery Secretary Jackie Keiser, cemetery Board Chairman Len Luba, Lorraine Smith, and chapter Secretary Ronalee Schall. </caption0><photoCredit0>Roger DuPuis | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_Cemetery3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Sue Borum, a prospective member of the Shawnee Fort Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, visits the grave of her ancestor Conrad Lion, a Revolutionary War veteran who is buried in Hanover Green Cemetery. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_Cemetery3.jpg</photo1><caption1>Sue Borum, a prospective member of the Shawnee Fort Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, visits the grave of her ancestor Conrad Lion, a Revolutionary War veteran who is buried in Hanover Green Cemetery. </caption1><photoCredit1>Roger DuPuis | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_cemetery1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Len Luba, chairman of the Hanover Green Cemetery Board, kneels at a memorial to Wayne B. Wolfkeil, a local Air Force pilot whose plane crashed in Laos during the Vietnam War, and whose remains were never located. More than 1,600 veterans are buried in the cemetery, where members of the Shawnee Fort Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, plan to lay wreaths in their memory next month for National Wreaths Across America Day. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_cemetery1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Len Luba, chairman of the Hanover Green Cemetery Board, kneels at a memorial to Wayne B. Wolfkeil, a local Air Force pilot whose plane crashed in Laos during the Vietnam War, and whose remains were never located. More than 1,600 veterans are buried in the cemetery, where members of the Shawnee Fort Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, plan to lay wreaths in their memory next month for National Wreaths Across America Day. </caption2><photoCredit2>Roger DuPuis | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Shawnee Fort DAR seeks volunteers for Hanover Green wreath laying</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Roger DuPuis</p><p>rdupuis@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>HOW TO HELP</strong></p><p>Visit https://tinyurl.com/hanovergreenwreaths</p></factboxMeta></div>