ABC-7 Listens: Dried-Up & Brown Wreaths at Fort Bliss

It wasn’t the vision Tracey Benson had in mind when she decided to donate money to pay for wreaths at Fort Bliss National Cemetery as part of ‘Wreaths Across America.’

“To see them all brown and piled up,” she told ABC-7, “It was just sad.”

Benson donated $60, enough to pay for four wreaths including one to be placed at her father’s grave.

But when she stopped by Tuesday to look at it, she said the wreath was dried-up and dead.

“They should make good on that and we should get some new wreaths in here before Christmas,” said Benson.

ABC-7 spoke with Debbie Torres and Russell Smith, members of the Civil Air Patrol and local coordinators for ‘Wreaths Across America.’

They said they too were appalled when approximately 1,600 of the more than 4,000 wreaths ordered for Fort Bliss arrived in pretty bad shape and had to be tossed out.

“Three years, everything’s been absolutely perfect,” said Smith. “The fourth year, we have some problems that haven’t been explained yet,.”

Smith said the wreaths came from a supplier in Maine: Worcester Wreath Co.

He said the company is scrambling to figure out what went wrong and how it can possibly fix things at Fort Bliss.

Benson said she hopes something is done soon.

“They should make good and we should get some new wreaths in here before Christmas,” she said.