Peters Township baseball team honors veterans
For 25 players on the Peters Township High School baseball team, Dec. 15 was a reflection of history during which most know nothing except what they have read or studied.
The players and 18 parents took part in the annual national Wreaths Across America Tribute at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies in Cecil Township, an event in which the team has participated for the past four years.
According to William McLuckie, father of high school senior Bill McLuckie and a member of the Diamondbackers Booster Club, attending the event was begun by Ryan Minteer, a senior who upon graduation, had Bill McLuckie take over. Now that McLuckie is set to graduate in the spring, sophomore Ryan Tassone has agreed to lead the group during future wreath placing ceremonies to honor those veterans buried in the local cemetery.
Each placed five to six wreaths and several, including McLuckie, have relatives buried in the national cemetery.
The event is coordinated and financed through the Wreaths Across America Tribute.
The players and parents gathered at the high school at 11 a.m. before attending the ceremony at the cemetery. After each section was completed, the players helped to break up the wreath boxes before moving on to another section, William McLuckie said.
Each of the players was asked to reflect not only on placing the wreath, but to spend a silent moment reading the monument to gain more knowledge about the veteran.