Everlasting Tree Honors Under Secretary Mathew Quinn

 

Everlasting Tree Honors Under Secretary Mathew Quinn

The dedication ceremony for the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery in Blackfoot was held in October 2021. This veterans cemetery is one of more than 150 veterans cemeteries across the nation, the second state cemetery in Idaho. This 40-acre Idaho State Veterans Cemetery will serve more than 20,000 eastern Idaho veterans and their families.

The event included comments and speeches by Under Secretary, Major General Ret. Quinn of the National Cemetery Administration (NCA), Gov. Little, Mark Tschampi, Chief Administrator, Division of Veterans Services, and James Earp, State Veterans Cemetery Bureau Chief. 

Everlasting Tree Honors Under Secretary Mathew Quinn

John and Heidi from Everlasting Tree honored Under Secretary Mathew Quinn with a commemorative pen set created from the same wood the Montana state veterans ceremonial urn covers were made from. 

Veteran Ceremonial Urns Donated by Everlasting Tree

Flag donated to the Veterans of Eastern Idaho by Karen Clark.
Presentation case constructed and donated by Everlasting Tree. 

OSCS DOYLE D. CLARK’S RETIREMENT FLAG

Flown underway from the USS Nimitz in the Persian Gulf During Operation Desert Storm

Donated to the Veterans of Eastern Idaho by Karen Clark.

2021 Abraham Lincoln Pillar of Excellence Award

The 2021 Abraham Lincoln Pillar of Excellence was awarded to the of state of Idaho in recognition of Everlasting Tree’s Veterans Ceremonial Urn Cover Project. This award was accepted by Mark Tschampi, Idaho State Division of Veterans Services, Chief Administrator in Washington DC last week. It was then presented to John and Heidi for their Veterans Ceremonial Urn Cover Project.

John designed and created over eighty custom ceremonial urn covers for Veteran’s who are going to be inurned at a State Veteran’s Cemetery. Over forty Veteran’s State and National Cemeteries in twenty states have received these ceremonial urns.

This award from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs recognizes excellence and innovation by honoring outstanding state programs that support veterans within their states. The Pillars of Excellence Award was established by the VA in 2012 and each year seven awards are presented. This is the VA’s pinnacle of excellence award. 

James Earp, Idaho State Veterans Cemetery Bureau Chief, and Marv Hagedorn supported this valued program and were instrumental in getting it submitted for consideration.

Everlasting Tree donates ceremonial urns to the Snake River Canyon National Cemetery

The first national cemetery for United States veterans in Idaho was dedicated on August 12, 2020 in Buhl, Idaho. John Sword of Everlasting Tree Urns was among a small group of local, state and federal dignitaries that included VA Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs Randy Reeves. John Sword created and donated a new ceremonial urn for use during ceremonies to honor veterans who will be buried here. 

This is the first national cemetery built in Idaho and is part of the VA National Cemetery Administration Rural Initiative to provide access to VA burial benefits for Veterans who reside in rural areas and who have not previously had reasonable access to a national or state Veterans cemetery.

Before the dedication ceremony John was honored to receive the 'Under Secretary for Memorial Services Coin' from Randy Reeves.

 

The Battle of Belleau Wood ~ Commemorative Pens

The Battle of Belleau Wood occurred 100 years ago in June 1918 during World War I. The battlefield sits about five miles west of the town of Château-Thierry, barely fifty miles northeast of Paris, France. The Aisne-Marne American Cemetery lies below the hill containing Belleau Wood where many American Marines lost their lives during the battle.

This past November, John Sword visited Belleau Wood, where he collected several small oak tree branches from the wooded area above the memorial. From those branches, commemorative pens were made in honor of the valiant Marines who fought there. Each pen was turned and assembled by Col. Stephen H. Young, USA (Ret). The thirteen living recipients of the Medal of Honor recently received a pen as a thank you for their service. 

Aisne-Marne American Cemetery Visit ~ November 7, 2018

On Wednesday, November 7, 2018 we took a train across the border from San Sabastian to Hendaye, France. We then traveled on the high-speed train to Paris. Although we were both anxious to get home we had one last stop to make before our flight out on Friday. On Thursday we scheduled a car and driver to take us to Aisne-Marne American Cemetery. This beautiful cemetery is about an hour from Charles de Gaulle Airport.

The 42.5-acre Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial in France sits at the foot of Belleau Wood. The cemetery contains the graves of 2,289 war dead, most of whom fought in the vicinity and in the Marne Valley in the summer of 1918. The memorial chapel sits on a hillside, decorated with sculptured and stained-glass details of wartime personnel, equipment and insignia.

Inscribed on its interior wall are 1,060 names of the missing. Rosettes mark the names of those since recovered and identified. In 1940 during World War II the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery chapel was damaged due to heavy fighting in the vicinity. All damage was repaired except for one shell hole in the chapel, left as a reminder of what took place. Belleau Wood adjoins the cemetery and contains many vestiges of World War I. A monument at the flagpole commemorates the valor of the U.S. Marines who captured much of this ground in 1918.

The remains of the hunting lodge lie in the northwest corner of the wood, on a hillside behind the cemetery chapel. During the fighting, the "pavilion" served as a German battalion headquarters until first overrun by the 43rd Company, USMC. From the top of the structure, the Marines could see well behind the German lines.

Wreaths Across America ~ Idaho State Veterans Cemetery

On a clear and cold December morning in Boise, Idaho, Sally Jackson and friends gather at the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery to pay respect to her husband Captain Arthur J. Jackson, a World War II, United States Marine Corps, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient.

Pictured above from left to right: James Earp; Tamara Earp; Sally Jackson; John Sword.

Sally's dedication and memory of her husband Art inspired artist, John Sword, to create the Medal of Honor Urns that symbolize the strength and courage of the recipients. Each urn is individually handcrafted from wood and  topped by a bronze leaf cast from an actual leaf from Arlington Cemetery. In addition, a special compartment in the urns contains earth from   battlefields from around the world where US soldiers fought and died. Sally then introduced this urn to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.

James Earp, the bureau chief of the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery, and his wife Tamara first met the Jackson's years ago during their visit to the Veterans Cemetery.  When John created the very first Veterans Ceremonial Urn covers for use during Veteran and spouse committal services, James became good friends with John and his wife Heidi.  James shared the positive experiences with other State Veterans Cemetery directors and the VA's Pacific District Director who requested this program to be implemented at other National Veterans Cemeteries. John has provided over fifty of these urns in eleven states.

Tamara volunteers as the Wreaths Across America location coordinator for The Idaho State Veterans Cemetery. Each year she provides a special Flag that is placed in the wreath to recognize the valor, heroism, and selfless sacrifice for the three Idaho Medal of Honor Recipients, Major Ed Freeman; Colonel Bernard Fisher; and Captain Arthur Jackson laid to rest in the upper section of the Veterans cemetery.

As the group was winding down, a magnificent bird flying in the distance slowly approached.  Once within view it was clearly the  Bald Eagle, a symbol of our Nation's strength and freedom.  This was an impressive conclusion as this gathering of friends completed their visit to honor their loved ones, Veterans and their families. 

Everlasting Tree Donates Ceremonial Urn Cover to Honor WASP

This WASP ceremonial urn cover was designed and created by Idaho artist, John Sword. John donated this urn in honor of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), to be used for inurnment ceremonies for these trailblazing women who flew for the Army Air Forces during WWII.

Sand from Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas, is incorporated into the base of the urn to symbolize where they trained. The leaves on the lid were replicated in bronze from a leaf collected at Arlington National Cemetery. They were cast at Valley Bronze in Joseph, Oregon. Valley Bronze provided the bronze work for the World War II Memorial and the frames that hold the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights in Washington DC. The pens are handmade from the same tree as the urn by female volunteers at Woodcraft Boise and donated along with the urn. 

To make arrangements to use the urn contact Erin Miller at finalfightfinalflight@gmail.com or the National WASP WWII Museum at waspmuseum@yahoo.com

See Also: Everlasting Tree Donates Cremation Urn for WASP Pilot Elaine Harmon | 9/7/16

John became acquainted with this organization in 2016 when he learned about the Harmon family’s efforts to obtain permission for her to be interred at Arlington National Cemetery on a national news report. He subsequently donated an urn for the inurnment of WASP Pilot Elaine Harmon in a special ceremony on September 7, 2017. See more about this story here.

Sculpted Bubinga Wood Cremation Urn with Two Keepsake Boxes

Have you been searching for a cremation urn that is like none other? Something that reflects the uniqueness and individuality of someone you loved? Everlasting Tree Cremation urns are not only hand crafted in the US, they are one of a kind.

This beautiful sculpted Bubinga urn was recently designed and crafted from hand-selected Bubinga wood, also known as African Rosewood. The large urn comes with a 3” x 4” brass plaque, which can be engraved with several lines of copy. The keepsake boxes are simply a smaller version of the larger Bubinga urn and are a great option if you are sharing a loved one’s ashes or special keepsake items. A small hole, capped with a brass plug, can be placed in the base to discreetly store a small amount of ashes. A small Allen wrench is included. You can see other custom urns on Etsy. Just click on the 'Etsy Shop' tab or the link in the side bar.