fabricflowers

The woman, Ramiro Penaherrera recalls, was from Texas. Probably in her 60s. He never asked her name. It was Memorial Day of last year, and Mr. Penaherrera a flower grower from Ecuador, was handing out roses two at a time one to place atop the headstones at Arlington National Cemetery, the other for visitors to take with them a reminder of loved ones lost.

The woman approached. Dressed in jeans and a floppy hat, flowers bunched under his arm, Mr. Penaherrera asked if she would like to decorate a grave.This is really wonderful, the woman said.My husband sent me roses on the day he was born.Mr. Penaherrera was confused. How could he It took me a second to realize what she was saying he said. She was going to put flowers on the grave of her son. That’s pretty powerful.

A 57-year old who grew up in Washington Mr. Penaherrera is the founder of Memorial Day Flowers, an organization that distributes donated flowers to visitors at Arlington National Cemetery and other cemeteries around the country.On Memorial Day, more than 100 local volunteers will hand out Ecuadorean roses and 1,000 red, white and blue flower bouquets at four Arlington cemetery locations, including Section 60, one of the burial areas for soldiers killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.Last year, Mr. Penaherrera and 15 volunteers gave out 10,000 roses at the cemetery, which according to a spokesperson typically hosts about 75,000 visitors over the holiday weekend.

Some flower recipients offered spontaneous hugs. Others offered money, which the volunteers refused. A few visitors spontaneously told their stories. One man, Mr. Penaherrera recalled, simply repeated “my buddy,” over and over, visibly stricken with grief.Anita Bemis-Dougherty, an Alexandria-based physical therapist, was at Arlington to visit the graves of her parents and uncle, all of whom served in the military. She initially thought the roses were for the families of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and approached a volunteer to offer thanks; when the volunteer said she could take a flower home, she nearly cried.Celebration of Quilting features unique entries