Suburban Garden Club donates to Memorial Garden for the Fallen
In Spring 2011, the Suburban Garden Club of Cheshire donated $500 to help the Delaware Federation of Garden Clubs build a therapeutic memorial garden for families of fallen troops at Dover Air Force Base.
Dover Air Force Base is home to the nation’s only stateside military mortuary. Every single casualty outside the United States—no matter what rank, branch of service, or manner of death—is transported to Dover and prepared for burial. Since 1955, bodies of more than 55,000 fallen troops have been transported to Dover.
Recently, a building called “The Center for Families of the Fallen” was opened at the base. Similar to the Ronald McDonald House, the center is an inn where families can stay when they travel to Dover to receive the bodies of their loved ones. The Delaware Federation of Garden Clubs is installing a Memorial Garden adjacent to the Center for Families of the Fallen. The goal is to create a peaceful, therapeutic garden space that will provide some comfort to grieving families. The garden will be a private space, intended only for use by the families and not open to the public.
Information on donating to the memorial garden for families of the fallen at Dover Air Force Base can be obtained online at http://www.memorialgarden-Dover.org .