As far as Steve Ellis was aware, it showed up in Arlington National Cemetery this week without any explanation.
A two-foot-tall wreath of flowers on a tripod stand. It included mums, carnations, and roses in a variety of yellow hues. The words “HONORING SERVICE & SACRIFICE” and “125th ARMY NAVY GAME” were inscribed in gold on two blue ribbons that ran over the wreath.
Ellis, 71, was doing morning chores on his farm in rural Clackamas County on Wednesday, scooping horse dung and throwing feed to the hens, when he received a picture of the show.
He eagerly showed his wife, Linda, the picture after waiting for her to wake up.
He told me via email that we didn’t do this, but we’re trying to figure out what went wrong.
According to Steve, the wreath was positioned in front of a wall that displayed correspondence between the couple and their daughter, Cpl. Jessica Ellis. The Military Women’s Memorial at Arlington, which is close to Jessica’s grave in Section 60, now features a permanent display in her honor. It features her battle boots and a helmet with the 502nd Infantry Regiment’s emblem, a heart.
When the embassy was attacked by terrorists in 2008, Jessica, an Army combat medic, was killed while accompanying engineers on a sweep of Baghdad to defuse roadside bombs. She was 24 years old.
Jessica was a medic with the 502nd, a regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, so Steve figured that’s why the wreath was there. The 22nd-ranked Army football team will honor the 101st, the renowned Screaming Eagles, on Saturday by donning their uniforms.
We were moved, he said. Yes, it did. This is the essence of the Army-Navy game’s meaning and spirit. in order for us to remember the sacrifices made, whether they were made by Jessica or by anyone else.
However, the wreath’s placement has nothing to do with the Army’s uniform homage.
As it happened, the enigma was not really a mystery at all.
The wreath was commissioned for an Arlington celebration. Holly Holeman, a florist from Virginia, stopped in front of what she refers to as Jessica’s Alcove on her way to put it in front of an exhibit hall. It was only there for a second. Enough time to take a picture.
According to Holeman, she was unaware that Army would be commemorating Jessica’s division during the game on Saturday by donning uniforms. It happened by accident. The Ellises, however, she knew.
Holeman’s company creates wreaths and flowers for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and other revered ceremonies at Arlington. In 2008, she supplied the flowers for Jessica’s funeral.
Steve and Linda Ellis are among the numerous people she maintains close contact with whose loved ones are interred at Arlington, Gold Star families. When they go to Jessica’s tomb, she sees them.
“I took the wreath in there because I know Jessica’s parents and I know they would care and it would give them a moment of peace,” Holeman explained.
It turns out that there are reasons why things happen even when they aren’t intentional.
Mike Mullen, a retired Navy admiral and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, joins Steve Ellis (left) at Jessica Ellis’ Arlington National Cemetery tomb a few years ago.Thanks to Steve Ellis
Jessica Ellis grew up in eastern Oregon, but she was born in Idaho. She qualified for the state meet in Eugene after running cross country at Lakeview. In the summers, she went swimming. Before joining the Army, she worked as a wildland firefighter after high school.
Steve described her as a remarkable woman.
You see, this story is more about what we can learn from a football game than it is about the game itself.
Steve described it as a somber demonstration of unity and discipline. Where else does a sporting event have that?
Army is ranked No. 22 in the nation and has an 11-1 record this season. They would probably be in the 12-team field competing for a national championship, along with clubs like Oregon, if they hadn’t lost to Notre Dame. Furthermore, their encounter with 8-3 Navy on Saturday in suburban Maryland may have felt more significant than even that.
According to Steve, this is one of the most treasured customs in athletics. It’s not an Oregon Duck-Beaver game or the national championship football game. The Army-Navy game is on.
Additionally, it serves as a reminder of sacrifice and service, as the wreath stated.
According to her father, Jessica was asked where she was from by a drill instructor during her basic training at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri.
He asked her if she preferred the Ducks or the Beavers when she revealed that she was from Oregon. She answered, The Beavers.
Oregon was the drill instructor’s chosen state. and told Jessica to perform pushups until she could declare herself a Ducks supporter.
“I started doing pushups and I never changed loyalties, Dad,” Steve claimed Jessica informed him.
In October 2004, Jessica Ellis (front) performs pushups at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri as part of her basic training.Thanks to Steve Ellis
Beavers fans make up the family. Both Jessica’s younger sister and older brother were Oregon State students. According to Steve, these are the fans who will support the Ducks until they face the Beavers.
Steve shares stories like this to remember his daughter and to keep her near.
He and Linda moved to Baker after Jessica graduated from Lakeview, where the high school still holds an annual basketball game in her honor, Steve said.
In order to be nearer to their other children and grandchildren, they subsequently relocated to the farm situated between Molalla and Estacada. It was dubbed their retirement farm by Steve. He spent a career working for the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service, including stints in Northern Virginia, near Arlington. Linda worked a nurse practitioner in small eastern Oregon communities.
Today, a Gold Star banner hangs prominently in the window of their farmhouse.
I m looking at it now, he told me. Nobody sees it except the UPS guy when he comes to deliver a package up the gravel lane.
On Saturday, Steve will settle in front of the TV at his son s house in West Linn to watch Army. He will crack a beer.
It s sort of a tradition, he said. And we ll think about her. Especially with the 101st Airborne salute.
And he ll think about, like the wreath that got his attention said, service and sacrifice. And how sports can be about more than they seem, a source of perspective.
I hope the Oregon Ducks win the national championship, he said. I ll be cheering for them and I m sure Jessica will be too from up there.
He paused, his voice shaking slightly.
But at the end of the day, he said, it s important to give some thought to the meaning of this particular sporting event this Saturday.
–Bill Oramis the sports columnist at The Oregonian/OregonLive.
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